A Week's Holiday
by victimofmywoes
Summary: Because making a promise like that during the holidays never went well for anyone no matter how practical it sounded at the moment or in your head. SasuNaru, Kyuubi/KuramaItachi.


_**A Week's Holiday**_

_**A/N:**_Merry Christmas people! I'm actually sick and not allowed to party this year so I thought I might as well get my lazy ass to finish this...and I did. I'm just nine and a half hours late! Anyway, here you go. Yes it's long. Very long.

_**Warnings:**_Apart from the length, it contains mature stuff like M/M, Yaoi, Slash. SasuNaru, Kyuubi/KuramaItachi.

_**Disclaimer:**_Naruto and all its characters are the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

* * *

"Well, Sasuke and I have decided not to see each other during this one week that we are in Konoha," Naruto said and smiled at Sakura who just stared at him with a shocked expression on her face over the video call.

As if at loss for words, she continued to stare for a moment or two with her mouth wide open, unable to gather her composure or thoughts. As far as she knew the two, they could never stay away from each other. Sometimes she was almost convinced that the two were in a relationship. She shuddered internally at the image that thought evoked. Her male best friend with her crush – now that was _disturbing, _wasn't it?

"That's awesome, right? We left you speechless, right? I knew it! Didn't I tell you Sasuke bastard that the news would sweep her off her feet?" Naruto gushed excitedly turning to look at his boyfriend who was seated beside him on the couch.

"That's shock Naruto," Sasuke pointed out drolly when Sakura continued to look at them stupidly. He turned towards Naruto's laptop screen and raised an eyebrow. "Dramatic much?" he asked the pink-haired girl who he knew still had a crush on him and was still staring at them with her mouth open aghast.

"Like complete contact? Why?" Sakura managed to wheeze out after another long moment after she gave a rather _uncharacteristic _laugh.

Sasuke leaned back on his seat and regarded Sakura with the same stoic look he gave everyone. "Let's call it…taking a break from each other?" he said.

At that Sakura rolled her eyes. "Now really," she said, "I've never _seen _or _heard _friends do something as naïve as taking a break from each other but then," she shrugged her shoulders delicately, "what difference is one week going to make?"

At that the couple looked at each other for a second, a blush beginning to bloom on Naruto's cheeks. "I know it won't make much difference but considering how I live with the guy here in Suna, I think it would be good to take a break." He said. "Besides we will send each other the occasional text message so I think it won't be that bad." He added as an afterthought.

Sakura made a disbelieving face. She failed to see the difference. Honestly! They were planning to _text _each other while claiming that they were taking a break! Who the hell did that shit? But then again, this was _Naruto _and _Sasuke _she was talking about here and she had never seen a friendship that was as contrasting as theirs, so she let the matter drop.

_Whatever rocks your boat,_ she thought.

They discussed a few plans after that, talking about how and when she could meet the two, indirectly (not indiscreetly) even asked Sasuke for a date which earned her a glare from the dark haired man but a pointed nudge from Naruto had him nodding his head in agreement.

They hung up soon after that and Naruto leaned back against the couch and regarded Sasuke with a smile. "I'm so excited to go home," he whispered moving close for a kiss.

Sasuke rubbed Naruto's back but leaned away from the kiss. "Tired of me already, eh?" he asked feigning hurt and raising an eyebrow.

Naruto snorted. "You know the reason why we have agreed to do this crazy thing," he said cupping Sasuke's neck and forcefully bringing it closer for the much desired kiss.

Sasuke obliged with a chaste peck on the blond man's lips. "Yeah because seeing as you can't keep your hands off me now, Konoha is going to be no different?" he said subtly sliding his hands from Naruto's back to his thigh and giving it a squeeze.

Naruto smirked. "Like you are any different bastard; look who is squeezing whose thigh now," he said causing Sasuke to laugh genuinely but he did not remove his hand.

He gave another hard squeeze and said, "I never said I can keep my hands off you Naruto."

Naruto blushed at the way the statement was spoken. "Bastard," he muttered under his breath and pulled Sasuke for a kiss that was sure to leave the dark-haired man breathless. "Let's take this to the bedroom, shall we?" he asked untangling himself from Sasuke and standing to walk to the bedroom.

"Hasty, aren't we?" Sasuke mocked as he stood up too to follow Naruto. He groped Naruto's ass which earned him a sharp smack and a glare from his lover.

"Just trying to make memories before we leave," Naruto muttered in a small voice as he walked into the bedroom.

He smiled when Sasuke wrapped his arms around him and drew him close. "Is that so?" he asked biting the shell of Naruto's ear making Naruto moan. He leaned down and pressed a series of kisses to Naruto's neck when Naruto turned his neck to the side. "Then," he whispered between kisses as he worked his way back to Naruto's ear, "Let's make so many that you can't forget me for even a moment."

At that, Naruto turned and kissed Sasuke harshly on the mouth. "Then what are we waiting for?" he asked rhetorically making Sasuke smile.

It was all the invitation he needed.

* * *

Two hours later, Naruto opened his eyes and frowned. "Sasuke," he said and looked at Sasuke who closed the book he was reading and took off his reading glasses.

Sasuke hummed running a hand through Naruto's hair.

"Are we going overboard with the no masturbation promise?" he asked scratched his cheek and regarding his lover.

Sasuke ran his fingers soothingly over Naruto's scalp. "Would you cancel it if I said yes?" he asked looking inquisitively at Naruto.

Naruto turned his head into his pillow and rubbed it. "I don't know." He mumbled his voice muffled by the pillow.

Sasuke yanked his neck up and pulled him towards himself. "We'll do what you want Naruto," he whispered and kissed Naruto.

Naruto thought about it for a moment and then said, "Let's hold it in. Let it build up and then a week later I think it'll be worth it."

Sasuke nodded even though he wasn't completely pleased with the idea. He looked down and when his eyes met Naruto's, he was utterly convinced he could hold himself for a week.

Those gorgeous blue eyes were definitely going to be the death of him.

* * *

"God I'm tired!" Naruto said stretching his arms above his head as they exited the airport. He scrunched his nose against the strong sun and pushed his sunglasses further up his nose.

Beside him, Sasuke fidgeted with his backpack as he played with a stray thread from one of the pockets, his own sunglasses in place.

Naruto looked at him and grinned. Sasuke looked gorgeous with those fancy designer sunglasses he had gifted the man on his previous birthday. "What's up?" he asked his smile dimming when he saw the slight frown Sasuke wore in between his eyebrows.

Sasuke pushed his backpack higher on his back and stared at the road ahead where taxis were lined up. "So I guess I'll see you after a week?" he said and for some reason Naruto was torn to give up this entire ordeal of not seeing Sasuke for a week.

But then he collected his thoughts and nodded. "Yeah," he said and then punched Sasuke lightly on the shoulder. "Don't worry bastard, we'll text each other from time to time." He made to walk towards the taxis but Sasuke's hand on his arm stopped him.

"See you in a week…idiot," he said and for a second Naruto was totally inclined to take Sasuke to a private corner and kiss the daylights out of him. He couldn't think of anything when the hand on his arm tightened its grip and he was being hauled towards god knew where - luggage and all intact - and then Sasuke was kissing him _exactly _the way he wanted to kiss Sasuke.

"I love you Naruto."

Naruto's breath caught in his throat and he nodded trying but failing to get the words out. "I'll see you," he managed to rasp out before he turned around and walked towards a taxi dumping his suitcase in the trunk.

He gripped the ring he wore around his neck – a present from Sasuke with their names engraved on the inside – which meant more to him than a lot of things.

With his mind still on Sasuke, he gave the address to the driver and sat in the back to contemplate about the upcoming week. He forced his mind to divert itself from the bleak thoughts of not being able to be with Sasuke and instead focus on the plans he had built with his friends and family.

He smiled slightly releasing the ring and staring at the familiar scenery of his hometown again.

Suddenly he couldn't wait to see his family and friends.

* * *

_**Day 1**_

_**Uzumaki Household  
**_

He walked down yawning heavily to see his mother busy cooking in the kitchen while his father read the newspaper on the dining table. Scratching his head he sat down he yawned again and smiled blearily at his dad who regarded him over the sports section of the newspaper with his rimless spectacles.

"Sleep well?" Minato asked as he ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately.

Naruto nodded and dropped his head against the wooden table enjoying the way his dad was smoothing out his hair. It was oddly soothing and he smiled. "Where's Kyuubi?" he asked after a while as if sensing the absence of his elder brother.

On cue, the front door opened and Kurama aka _Kyuubi_ walked in with a huge brown paper bag bearing what Naruto assumed to be food his mom must have nagged him to get early in the morning.

Judging from the scowl Kyuubi wore, that was true. When Kyuubi was done dumping the bag on the kitchen counter (Kushina smacked him on the head twice), he walked up to the dining table and pulled the chair to Naruto's right. He slapped Naruto lightly at the back.

"'Morning kid," he said and Naruto grunted sleepily and lifted his head from the table to shoot his brother a happy grin.

"'Morning Kyuu-nii," he murmured and smiled when Kyuubi ruffled his hair playfully and then scratch at the piercing on his brow. He frowned when he noticed that new piercing. "When did you get that?" he asked pointing to the piercing and Kyuubi smiled.

"Last week," he said and then raised the eyebrow. "Suits me, doesn't it?" he asked wagging his eyebrows causing Naruto to snort.

"Yeah, completes the entire delinquent look he likes so much," Minato answered for Naruto as he flipped through another page of the newspaper. He glanced up at Kyuubi and scowled at the number of piercings that adorned his elder son's face. "Don't you think you're too old for that look?" he asked peering over his spectacles and narrowing his eyes in distaste.

Naruto laughed and tugged at his brother's red hair tied back in a ponytail causing the man to scowl at Naruto in annoyance. "Yeah dad," he said grinning affectionately but still playing with his brother's ponytail. He smiled warmly at his brother and then at his dad and winked. "But then it suits him."

He laughed and then he stood up, grabbed Kyuubi's face without warning and pushed it towards his dad while Kyuubi struggled in the grip and tried to yank his face free. "See dad doesn't he look like this kid who's failed school a lot of times and wishes to take out his frustration at the poor students?" he pointed at the frown Kyuubi wore and then nodded at the glare. "See he's even wearing the glare."

His hand was smacked rather hard by Kushina who came from the kitchen and glared at Naruto. "Naruto stop harassing your big brother," she said and then smiled when she saw the look in Kyuubi's eyes. "And you'd better make a run for it," was the only warning he got before Kyuubi made to grab him by his grey T-shirt and it wasn't long before Minato and Kushina heard Naruto's terrified scream and Kyuubi's evil laugh from the garden.

Kushina pushed her hair behind her ear as she sipped her black tea. "It's great to have them together, don't you think?" she asked smiling at Naruto shouted something and soon both of the brothers could be heard running around wildly.

Minato smiled as he put down his newspaper and took off his glasses. "Pity he's only here for a week," he said and clasped Kushina's hand in his when she looked really sad. "It's okay," he said.

Kushina nodded and hastily wiped the corners of her eyes when she heard their voices drawing closer. She turned to see Kyuubi carrying a wiggling Naruto on his shoulder. "Now that you've called me a delinquent kid brother, why don't I show you what they do?" he asked with sadistic amusement and laughed when Naruto squirmed some more and tried to get out of his brother's grip.

"You wouldn't dare," he screamed warningly as Kyuubi raised his hand and closed it around Naruto's hair. He made an attempt at a bad boy voice and scrunched up his face to resemble a scowl and a demeaning look at the same time.

"Now where is your lunch money?" he asked in a mean voice and everybody in the room burst out laughing.

Kyuubi looked confused. "What?" he said and Kushina slapped her hand on the table in mirth and stared at her sons. Naruto wriggled some more till finally Kyuubi put him down.

"Lunch money?" Naruto asked sitting on the floor when his stomach began hurting from all the laughing. "That's just so _lame_!" he wheezed out between laughter and everyone laughed some more.

"But don't kids get bullied for that?" Kyuubi asked frowning now when Naruto shook his head and flapped his hand in the air.

"Please nii," he said standing up and wiping his eyes with his fingers. "That is so old fashioned!" He said.

"But I used to get bullied because of that!" Kyuubi protested and Naruto just shook his head and cleared his throat.

"Times have changed Kyuu-nii. You're an old, old man now," he said feigning a sad tone and patted Kyuubi at the back.

Kushina stood up from the table and said, "Now that your brother has also said it, please find yourself someone and settle down."

That earned Naruto a glare from Kyuubi and Naruto just shrugged. He walked towards Kushina and pretended to ignore the daggers Kyuubi's eyes were shooting his way. "You heard the lady of the house Kyuu-nii," he whispered as he walked past him and then he made a dash for the kitchen when he heard his brother growl.

Riling up Kyuubi, having fun with the family, it was just like old times.

It felt great to be home.

* * *

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke walked down for breakfast exactly as the clock chimed seven in the morning. He found his father already seated at the dining table and perusing over the finance section of the newspaper. His mother was sipping her tea and tapping on her touch screen phone that Itachi had gifted her on her birthday last year.

"Good morning," he said taking his usual seat and looking down at the breakfast. It contained some of his favorite dishes and he smiled at his mother who smiled back at him and intoned the morning greeting.

Fugaku closed the newspaper and looked at Sasuke as if he had just realized that he was there. "Good morning," he said and picked up his chopsticks. They said their thanks together before each took a bite of their rice. "So how is work?" he asked after taking a sip of his miso soup.

Sasuke swallowed his bite of roe before answering. "It's good. Our company is planning a merger with a company in the Country of Waterfalls, so they are just setting up the deal these days."

Fugaku hummed as he took a bite of the omelet. "That's very nice. Will you get transferred to the Waterfalls branch if that happens?" he asked as he took a sip of his tea.

"Probably not," he shrugged. As much as the prospect of working with both the companies excited him, he wasn't very keen on going to the Country of the Waterfalls. He saw the frown on his father's face but the conversation between them was interrupted when Mikoto's phone went off.

"Oh it's Itachi!" she exclaimed before picking up the phone.

Sasuke noted the frown deepen on his father's face. He knew Fugaku hated the use of mobile phones on the table. "So Father," he tried to divert his father's attention. "How is your work?"

Fugaku hummed thoughtfully around his mouthful of rice and then swirled the miso soup with his chopsticks before answering. "It's the same," he said as he finished his soup and put down his bowl. "But recently, crime has increased so there are days when I have to work overtime." He took a sip of his tea, "rest of the days, its fine."

Sasuke nodded finishing his miso soup as well and wrapping his hand around his glass of tea. "You should take it easy now," he spoke softly and smiled when his father smiled at him.

"When did police officers like us have it easy son?" he asked as he said his thanks and picked up his police cap and stood up to leave.

"Have a good day Father," Sasuke said softly and Fugaku smiled again.

"You too, son," he said putting on his cap and moving towards the door. He paused at the doorway and turned around. "It's good to see you Sasuke." With that, he left.

Sasuke turned his attention towards his mother who was laughing at something her eldest son was saying on the phone. All the while he had been talking with his dad, he had made sure to tune out his mother's conversation partly because he wanted to give the mother and son some privacy and partly because he had absolutely no interest in listening to his mother whine about how one of his sons was home and the other wasn't.

Mikoto smiled charmingly at Sasuke and soon bid her farewells to her eldest son on the phone. She hung up and turned to Sasuke. "Your brother will be here on Tuesday," she said.

Sasuke smiled genuinely. It was always fun with Itachi over. "That's great!" he said.

His mother leaned forward. "Isn't it? I can't wait to have the entire family together. There is a surprise I have for the two of you."

Sasuke's eyebrow shot up in query. "Surprise?" he asked.

Mikoto smiled and bit her lip in consternation. "Well, the thing is, I have a girl in mind for Itachi and this time when he comes, I want them to meet each other and see if things will work out."

Sasuke frowned in dislike. "Mother, Itachi will never agree to this," he said.

Mikoto smiled one of her mysterious Uchiha smiles that reeked of the devil. "Well in that case, we just don't have to let him _know_, do we?"

For the first time in his life, his mother's words had a chill of trepidation running down his spine.

_Itachi was going to have to deal with hell!_

* * *

_**Uzumaki Household**_

After breakfast Naruto helped his mother with the dishes in the kitchen and thanked her over and over for the ramen she had made for him. She smiled and finally told him to shut up.

He regaled her with tales of his life in Suna and then told her about Sasuke (minus the relationship bit). Kushina smiled as she washed a plate and handed to him to wipe. "Call him over for dinner someday. I want to see him too. It has been so long," she said and Naruto nodded absentmindedly his thoughts already hitting a full stop the moment he had opened his mouth and taken Sasuke's name.

He had sent Sasuke a 'Good Morning' text the moment he had woken up and received an instant message but because they had promised each other to stick to "light" text messaging, they hadn't messaged each other after that.

It would be an understatement to say that even though it was just the first day of them being apart, he missed Sasuke terribly.

"Is something wrong?" Kushina interrupted his thoughts and he looked up at her and shook his head. He quickly finished wiping the rest of the dishes and once he was done he excused himself to go for a shower.

He headed up to his room and found his phone light blinking. With excitement running through his veins at the prospect of a message from Sasuke, he quickly picked it up. There was just a missed call from Kiba and a message from Sai who wanted to confirm the meeting plans.

He smiled wistfully and thought about Sasuke's plan for the day.

'_What is your plan for the day?'_ he typed and hit send.

A moment later his phone buzzed. _'Are you a sorcerer or something? I swear I was just typing the same thing! As for my plans, I have that dinner date with Sakura tonight. What about you?'_

He grinned. _'That's not sorcery bastard, that's our love for each other. Okay scratch that, it was real cheesy. I have plans for drinking tonight with Kiba and the boys. "Dinner date with Sakura," oh I see… It hasn't even been a day and already someone has a date. I'm jealous!'_

'_You forced me into it.' _Sasuke's reply was instant.

'_Rising to the defense just shows that there's something fishy Sasuke.' _He was rolling on his bed and laughing now.

'_Should I cancel it?' _he grinned and made a kissy face at his phone's screen.

'_I was kidding Sasuke. Besides I know you can never do it with her. You won't be able to get it up.'_

'_Is that a challenge?' _Naruto's smile vanished but a second later he grinned again.

'_Should it be?' _he typed at an almost furious speed and pressed the send button.

'_It could be if you wanted it to be…' _An open invitation, Naruto loved challenges like these.

'_You and Sakura…try imagining it.' _He challenged back.

'_Imagined, do you doubt my sexual prowess?' _Now his heart started beating in an uncomfortable tattoo.

'_You wouldn't dare.' _He typed his hands moving in a whir in their frenzy.

'_You know I wouldn't. The image just killed me.' _Sasuke replied and Naruto's heart eased up. He smiled wistfully when his phone buzzed again. '_I won by the way.'_

'_Damn straight you did, bastard! I miss you.' _His fingers hovered at the backspace button but then he decided against removing the last part and sent the message.

'_I know. Don't drink too much. I miss you too.'_

He smiled crazily against his phone and pressed his ring against his chest. The weight of it gave him some kind of relief.

He quickly stripped off his clothes and picked up his towel to take a shower. He had plans to hang out with Kyuubi to play some video games and he was completely determined to kick his brother's ass.

_Just you wait Kyuu-nii; _he nodded resolutely and ran to the bathroom.

* * *

_**Akimichi Diner**_

Seated across a moony-eyed Sakura, Sasuke cursed Naruto again and again for forcing him into it. True they had been friends since kindergarten but he had actually expected Sakura to give up her feelings for him. As a matter of fact, he had jumped at the chance of going to Suna not only because Naruto was there but also because the distance would have helped Sakura move on and find someone else.

"So how have you been?" he asked sighing mentally, as she just kept staring at him and grinning goofily. He took a sip of his water and raised an eyebrow at her. "Sakura, I'm talking to you," he said.

That seemed to rouse Sakura because she blushed and pushed her bubblegum colored hair behind her ear. "Sorry Sasuke," she shook her head, "I've been well." She smiled at him and asked, "How have you been?"

He nodded as well. "I've been good."

Awkward silence ensued and Sasuke recalled the way he had been so shocked when he went to pick her up. Dressed in a soft red evening gown, Sakura looked so…elegant and mature. Considering how they were all the same age, so it was natural that a twenty-six year old Sakura would dress her age but really Sasuke couldn't help but notice that Sakura had really become very beautiful.

He cast a quick glance around the restaurant and noticed many men staring at Sakura. He cleared his throat. "You've become very pretty Sakura," he said and instantly Sakura's eyes lit up like twin stars.

"You think so? Thank you Sasuke!" she smiled warmly at him and self consciously touched her cheeks which had turned bright pink with the compliment.

Sasuke cleared his throat again. "So…um…let's order, shall we?" he looked at the menu and then called the waiter over.

After they had both placed their orders, they made small talk. Sasuke told her about his work, his life in Suna and life with Naruto while Sakura told him about her life as a neurosurgeon resident.

By the time their meal came, her fan girl gaze had softened to that one of an old friend and Sasuke was no longer uncomfortable with her. He did however notice the way he continued to be the object of many people's envy when they took in Sakura's beauty and the fact that they were seated together.

Once or twice he was even tempted to glare at a couple of men to tell them off just because so many eyes on them made him uncomfortable.

He shook his head when the thought nagged his brain again. Maybe Naruto had been rubbing off him the wrong way.

At that thought his brain gave an evil chuckle that he tried valiantly to keep from his face. Naruto rubbed off him alright. But _never _in the wrong way! Hell if anything, Sasuke didn't know anyone who could move in a way more right than –

"Sasuke quit grinning like that. It's creepy!" Sakura's sharp voice brought him out of his thoughts and he quickly schooled his features into the same poker face.

"Sorry," he took a sip of his water.

Sakura waved a pink painted hand in dismissal. "So miss Naruto yet?" she asked.

_If you only knew, _Sasuke thought sadly but just shrugged and pretended to put on an air of indifference. "Not much," he said.

Sakura nodded. "I'm pretty sure he has forgotten about you by now. The party animal that he is, I'm sure he is with all his male friends flirting with every female that he sees at the bar. What say?"

Honestly, Sasuke was a little worried about that. Even though Naruto could hold his liquor very well, there were times when Naruto did tend to go overboard and what ensued after that could only be referred to as chaos. A drunken Naruto had a tendency to flirt with everything that came on legs. And flirting was a _mild _way to put it.

He prayed tonight wouldn't be one of those nights.

* * *

_**Club Fire Bullets**_

The night was going smoothly. So far Naruto had only drank a couple of beers, a whisky on the rocks and was now ordering a refill for the whisky. To his left sat Neji and Gaara while Kiba had been sitting to his immediate right followed by Sai. However, a woman had asked Kiba to dance and now his vacant seat was occupied by Sai who had seized the opportunity and scooted over.

He was completely sane and taking great interest in Sai's upcoming art exhibition. "So what's the theme?" he asked when the bartender – a surprisingly handsome guy with silver hair and mismatched red and black eyes – refilled his glass and placed it on the bar.

Sai smiled in the same humorless manner that once freaked Naruto out. "The theme is emotions," Sai said delicately as he put down his vodka and coke and looked at Naruto.

Naruto nodded and a sip of his whisky. "That's a good theme for you. Somebody suggested it?" he asked raising a brow inquiringly.

Sai nodded. "Yeah, I spoke to Diedara about it and you know that as my psychiatrist and my part-manager he knows me better than anyone else. And given my background which caused all the loss of," he made quotes in the air, "'feelings' he suggested I do research on it and paint that."

Naruto smiled. He could still remember the frustratingly awkward Sai when he had first met him in middle school. There had been only one way to describe Sai then. He was…emotionless. He was someone completely devoid of all feelings and emotions. But all of that had changed after this one massive fight where Sai had hit Sasuke and all hell had broken loose when Naruto had pelted him with fists and kicks till he had passed out.

The friendship that had sprung out from the fight came as a surprise to everyone including Naruto. But slowly and gradually, Sai had changed and frankly, Naruto was quite happy for that. Sai was one of his closest friends and he honestly didn't know how things would have been without Sai.

"Well, good luck with that," he said as he patted Sai on the arm and they drank in silence till Kiba returned all hot and panting from the dance floor.

"You've got to dance Naruto," Kiba insisted as he came behind his blond friend and grabbed him by his navy blue shirt and prepared to haul him off his seat and drag him to the dance floor.

Honestly, Naruto did not feel like dancing. He was too sober for it but then when Kiba proceeded to pull his shirt so tight that Naruto actually began thinking it was going to rip, he stood up to accede to his fate. He carefully pulled out one of Sasuke's favorite shirts on him from Kiba's grasp and walked in the direction of where a few lithe bodies could be seen wiggling across the dance floor. Few men and women were dancing lewdly too, grabbing body parts and openly groping.

The sight made Naruto nauseous. Nevertheless, he walked up to a less crowded patch with Kiba and began tapping his feet and then moving his hip in sync with the beats.

"How is Sasuke?" Kiba asked moving a little close in order to be heard and then he put an arm on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto frowned at the action but didn't really pull his body away. He was too used to Kiba and his lack of personal space lifestyle. "Sasuke's good," Naruto said shaking his hands to the beat and making a vigorous hip jerking motion. "I like this song," he said grinning and moving with the beat.

Kiba nodded and then sniffed. "So you guys are still together?" he asked looking elsewhere and still dancing. He swayed his hips from side to side and made a vague hand movement with the arm that wasn't on Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto smiled and nodded. A second later, he frowned. "Why do you look so unhappy about it?" he asked.

Kiba looked down and around still shaking to the beat. "Nah, it's just that," he laughed a little self-consciously, "it's been so long since you guys are together, you know?" he stopped dancing and shrugged. "Don't you ever get…bored of it?" he asked.

To his surprise, Naruto laughed. "You know what Kiba," he said moving a little closer to the shaggy haired man and smiling at him. "It's because Sasuke is _the _one," he whispered and laughed when Kiba made a sour face. He tapped Kiba's shoulder and nodded. "I know this sounds really insane, but trust me you'll know when you find that person. Remember Kiba," Naruto preached, "love happens at the most unexpected time with the most unexpected people."

Kiba laughed shaking his head disbelievingly, "You're seriously the craziest guy in the universe," he said moving away from Naruto and searching in the crowd for another suitable partner. If he listened to Naruto and his "the one" crap some more, he was pretty sure his brain cells were going to melt. He was pretty sure that long term relationships were not his thing.

Naruto grinned as he watched Kiba wiggle his ass and move towards a pretty blonde with blue-violet eyes wearing a pretty purple top and jeans. He smiled when he saw her cutting in and very soon both of them were moving in sync.

He walked back to the bar where both Neji and Gaara had turned and were looking at him. He gave a two-fingered salute as he took his seat on his stool again. "Had fun?" Neji asked sarcastically sipping a martini and raising a chocolate-colored eyebrow.

Naruto nodded. "Hey do you guys also think Sasuke and I have been together too long?"

Neji shot him a confused look as if he didn't know whether to be amused by the question or not. Beside him, Gaara snorted. "Do we really have to answer that?" he asked playing with his beer bottle and looking genuinely curious.

Neji cleared his throat before Naruto could say anything. "Why ask now?" he chuckled still surprised by the question.

Naruto sighed. "Well it's just that Kiba asked me this question on the dance floor and now I'm thinking…" he trailed off uncertainly scratching at the back of his head in charming confusion.

Sai patted his back. "Now that I think about it, you have been with Sasuke for most of your life." He turned towards Neji and Gaara, "I mean Sasuke has been like your one and only since the past how many years now? Heck it's almost like you guys are _married _to each other."

Both Neji and Gaara laughed while Naruto just bowed his head in embarrassment. "Ten years and you _guys_ are so _mean_," he whined when they laughed harder at his embarrassment.

"Okay Neji and Sai stop being mean to Naruto," Gaara reprimanded still grinning. He leaned forward and patted Naruto at the back. "It's okay Naruto," he said soothingly and Naruto looked at him with his cornflower blue eyes widening in happiness. "Even though you're his wife, we understand, right Neji?" he asked smiling coyly at Neji who burst out laughing at Gaara's pretended caring.

"So _mean_!" Naruto pouted and instantly he was mauled by both Sai and Neji who gave him sympathetic hugs. "Why does everyone assume I'm the wife?"

Curious eyebrows piqued at that. "Not that we're interested, but is it the other way round? As in you're the top and he's the bottom…?" Sai asked and immediately Naruto stood up to move away.

"I'm not answering that question," he said and made a dash to the dance floor. Behind him he could hear their laugh.

Honestly, his friends were so mean!

He was dancing with some random girl who had brown hair and matching eyes with freckles dusting her cheeks when he was interrupted by Kiba who caught Naruto's hand in a vice-like grip and dragged him to a corner. Naruto sputtered on the way and demanded to know what was wrong. He had only caught a glimpse of Kiba's face and never had he seen his friend look so pale. When Kiba deemed a corner of the bar private enough, he put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and pulled him close. He was breathing hard and looked completely panic-stricken. "So this thing you were talking about," he began and rubbed a hand across his face.

"Huh?" Naruto asked licking his lips and frowning when Kiba wiped his forehead and rubbed his palm against his jeans. Kiba looked really scared and Naruto felt his stomach tightening.

"This thing that you were talking about," Kiba repeated impatiently and then sighed and came closer. "That shit you were saying about the one and all that jazz?" he demanded and licked his lips again in fright. He frowned in anger when understanding finally dawned on Naruto's face and a shit-eating grin appeared on his face. Kiba looked down his face flushed and his breath coming in short pants. He seemed to have mustered up his courage after a few seconds and when he looked up again, it was straight into Naruto's eyes. "Tell me more about it," he said.

Naruto smiled.

_Interesting_…

* * *

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke tossed and turned on his bed and checked his phone. The tiny clock on the upper right corner of his phone showed 11.55 PM and Naruto still hadn't called or sent him a text stating he had reached home in one piece.

His thoughts raced crazily in his head and he tried to shut them up by opening his media gallery and perusing through photographs the two of them had taken together. He sighed against his midnight blue satin pillows.

_I can't believe I've been reduced to seeing you in photographs now. Naruto, it is just a week and yet I feel so helpless and everything looks so bleak and colorless. Why? Why do I have this sudden urge to see you? I promised I would hold my end of the bargain and not see you for a week and yet here I am, trying to stifle the urge to see you, to hold you in my arms and whisper sweet nothings till I can feel your moist breath on my neck and your grip on me growing tighter…_

Sasuke groaned as he found himself breathing hard while tracing a zoomed photograph of Naruto. His hand had already started trailing lower skimming the waistband of his pajamas and he slapped himself on the forehead for his lack of self-restraint. He couldn't believe that not a day had passed and he was willing to break his promise of not touching himself.

He exit the gallery and moved to his IM service flicking through names till his fingers were hovering over the name of the only person he wanted to talk to more than anyone else in the world.

He finally tapped on the name and quickly typed a "where are you?" and hit send. And then he waited. He turned to his left and stared at his phone lighting the screen every time the light went out. Five minutes of this and his eyelids began drooping. He shook himself awake and then turned to his back and opened the Sudoku App on his phone. He played it for what he thought was a long time but when he looked at the upper right corner, only ten minute had passed.

He frowned. Fifteen minutes passed and Naruto had yet to reply. He sat up and opened his Dialer but decided against calling Naruto and turned towards his left again and this time thought of playing some Mahjong on his phone. Two minutes into the game he gave up.

He opened his IM again and typed a "are you awake?" message and counted backward s from hundred after hitting send.

Then he cursed all of Naruto's stupid friends, wished him a good night in his head and rolled to his side to go off to sleep.

* * *

_**Day 2**_

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke woke up to his phone beeping and he quickly raised himself on his elbows and turned on the screen. He smiled when he noticed the number of messages he had received from Naruto on his IM all talking about how sorry Naruto was for not dropping him a line and apologizing for not getting back to him. Naruto had explained how he came back from the bar and went straight to bed.

Sasuke's anger abated as he read the last message over and over again.

'_I know you're grinning like a monkey. Now hurry up and forgive me bastard. You know I'm walking around on pins and needles.'_

He grinned and grinned some more when he thought about how apt Naruto's assumption of his actions was. He had to say this, Naruto knew him like the back of his hand.

He quickly typed, '_Good morning Naruto. Good to know at least one of us could sleep well while the other waited patiently for a message from a certain someone_.'

He threw his phone on his pillow and got up to go freshen up. Fifteen minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom in a towel and went to his phone to check if Naruto had replied. He frowned when there was no notification.

_Really now, _he thought yanking on a pair of boxers he had pulled from his suitcase, _he sends me all these cute messages with apology stamped all over it and does not even reply to my messages. Busy much, Uzumaki?_

He took out a nice blue shirt and his favorite pair of black jeans. He went about preening himself all the while mentally frowning at Naruto. Once dressed, he quickly made his way downstairs but not before checking his phone again. He scowled at the wallpaper of him and Naruto together at a festival in Suna where Naruto was all teeth and closed eyes while Sasuke had managed to give something akin to a smile.

"Where in the fucking world do you go off to? Are you already trying to make me regret my decision of staying away from you?" he asked the grinning Naruto and locked his phone and threw it on his bed again. He walked listlessly down the stairs but managed to smile at both his father and mother.

"Good morning," he greeted as he sat down and took the seat to his father's left. He muttered his thanks, picked up his chopsticks and began eating his breakfast.

"How was dinner with Sakura-chan?" Mikoto asked as she took a bite of her rice and chewed on it leisurely.

He frowned not recalling telling her about it. He cut a piece of the mackerel and looked at his mother. "Fine," he answered, "How do you know about it?"

Mikoto smiled that inexplicable smile which always made Sasuke uneasy. "I have my ways," she whispered and Fugaku snorted behind his miso soup.

"Naruto-kun told her," he said and Sasuke's heart sped at the mention of his boyfriend.

"Naruto?" he asked forcing himself to bite into the rolled sweet omelet as he looked at his father.

"Yeah, your mother called him yesterday to invite him over for dinner. Didn't she tell you?" he looked at his mother and frowned.

"When was this?" he asked.

"Last evening," Mikoto answered confused at the urgency in Sasuke's tone. "You must have been in your room apparently getting ready to go out." She put down her bowl of rice and her chopsticks. "Are you alright?" she asked seeing the scowl on her son's face.

"No it's nothing," Sasuke said slowly offering his mother a small forced smile and going back to eating his breakfast. "Did he agree to come?" he asked after a moment.

Mikoto frowned. "Naruto didn't tell you about it? He can't make it this time. He says all his nights this week are booked. By the way, he was also talking about some plan of yours with Suigetsu-kun in the evening today. Is that true?" she asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, Sui and I are going out for drinks," he said.

Mikoto frowned. "I wish you would have at least one dinner with us this week," she said wistfully and Fugaku laughed at her expression.

"Now Mikoto," he said putting down his empty bowl of rice and picking up his miso soup. "Sasuke is all grown-up isn't he?" he asked his wife with a smile in his voice.

"Yeah," she pouted when she looked at her son. "But that doesn't mean he forgets his family and stays out."

Sasuke sighed at his mother's childish antics. "Honestly mother?" he rolled his eyes when his mother continued pouting. "Itachi comes home tomorrow and I'm free tomorrow night. How about having dinner together then?" he asked.

Instantly Mikoto beamed. "I'll cook your favorite fish and tomato rice with vegetable stir-fry. How does that sound?"

Sasuke smiled. "Sounds great," he said and watched his mother smile from ear to ear.

It was really good to be home.

* * *

_**Uzumaki Household**_

Naruto ran to the refrigerator to get a couple of sodas for Kyuubi and himself. They had currently put their RPG game on hold and while Kyuubi took a quick washroom break, Naruto had gone to get them a few drinks.

Kyuubi emerged from the bathroom and walked into his room which he was sharing with Naruto, muttering something about changing his t-shirt. He walked out a second later and called for Naruto to come up. Naruto ran up the stairs quickly confused why his brother was calling him.

"You phone was ringing," Kyuubi said sliding off his white t-shirt and putting on a grey wife beater. He pulled his long ponytail out of his wife beater and walked over to where Naruto was looking at his phone with a sheepish expression. "What's up?" he asked walking behind his brother and putting an arm on his shoulder.

"I was so busy playing that I didn't check my phone," Naruto said biting his lip and typing furiously.

"And why has Sasuke sent you so many messages with "Where are you?" and "Text me please?" in them?" Kyuubi looked at his brother inquisitively and without thinking said, "That is so _gay_!"

His eyes widened at the look Naruto shot him.

"No way!" he said his voice rising in disbelief as he pointed accusingly at his little brother. "_No fucking way!_" he said and stared at Naruto some. When Naruto just stared back with a poker face, he sniffed and flicked his nose with his right thumb. "Naruto, what are mom and dad going to say? As it is, I am already an embarrassment for them and now you?" He stared incredulously at Naruto. "Furthermore, you do realize this guy is your best friend, right?" Kyuubi asked in a tone as if he could convince Naruto what a bad idea all of this was.

Naruto snorted. "You are not an embarrassment to the family. Will you please get over that? And as far as we are concerned," he said, "we are too far gone now." He shot his brother a displeased look.

"Damn right I'm not!" Kyuubi rolled his eyes. Then his thoughts shifted to his brother and he frowned. "How long has it been?" he asked and Naruto squirmed internally at his elder brother's expression.

"It'll be ten years this July," Naruto said and Kyuubi huffed angrily.

"Look Naruto, I have no problem about who you choose to sleep with," Kyuubi waved an uncomfortable hand in the air, "but this is Sasuke we're talking about. An _Uchiha_," Kyuubi said and Naruto frowned.

"So?"

"Naruto, Uchiha's are nothing but manipulative bastards."

Naruto burst out laughing. "I can't believe you're saying this bullshit. Sasuke and I have been together as the best of friends ever since middle school and keeping the part about us being…_lovers_ aside, he still is my best friend. Believe me I haven't had any issues when it comes to trusting him. Besides, how many Uchiha's do you know to be making that declaration Kyuu-nii?" he asked folding his hands, all thoughts of replying forgotten.

"You forget that I was once in a relationship with Uchiha Itachi," Kyuubi said and there was an edge to his voice.

Naruto threw up his hands in the air. "The reason why that relationship ended was because Itachi moved to Otogakure."

Kyuubi came forward and grabbed Naruto by the front of his shirt. "Don't you talk about my affairs when you know nothing about them, got it?" he shook Naruto hard and pushed him away.

"I know everything. I spoke to Itachi about it," Naruto spoke refusing to back down even when the look in Kyuubi's eyes turned feral.

"You did now, did you? What did that little weasel say? Did he tell you how cruelly he blocked all contacts with me and refused to return my calls and mail?" Kyuubi drawled sarcastically crossing his arms and raising his eyebrow.

Naruto did not reply too caught up in his disgust for an elder brother who was behaving like such a loser. "You will never understand his feelings," he said at last returning to his phone and beginning to type a sorry message to Sasuke.

"And you do? Do you have any idea how I felt when I came to know about him going to Otogakure? He was my fucking lover! And what do I get to see…him jumping on the next plane to Otogakure never to return again? Do you have any idea how hard it was to try and get over him?" Kyuubi asked his chest tightening at the haunting memories that time of his life brought back.

"Itachi was no better in Otogakure, Kyuu-nii," Naruto spoke compassionately trying hard to make his elder brother see the light. He could still remember the sorrow he saw in Itachi's eyes when he walked up to him during the elder brother's summer holidays and demanded an explanation for why his relationship with Kyuubi had just died all of a sudden and given Itachi no choice but to answer all the questions that the broody Kyuubi refused to answer choosing instead to shut himself in his room.

Kyuubi made a face. "Naruto I'm over it now," he shrugged. "Besides it's not like crying about him will bring him back," he said.

"But you still love him, don't you?" Naruto asked. It wasn't a question and Kyuubi knew it.

Kyuubi took a sharp breath. "Why dig up skeletons from the past now?" he asked putting his hands in the pockets of his white shorts and moving towards the door. Naruto nodded and looked down and grasped his phone tight. He drew up short when he felt Kyuubi's fist thump his head. "I'm just trying to protect you," he said.

Naruto looked deep into Kyuubi's eyes. "Sasuke isn't like that," he whispered and his heart lightened when Kyuubi smiled.

"I hope so kid. Else, he will not be able to get away like his sneaky elder brother." Kyuubi said and Naruto snorted at the fierce protection he saw in his brother's eyes.

"You won't hurt him," Naruto said lightly punching his brother on his shoulder.

"Oh you have no idea!" Kyuubi said menacingly and then cracked his knuckles for emphasis.

"Kyuu-nii," Naruto spoke looking up at his brother who hummed thoughtfully. "Keep it a secret from mom and dad please?" he asked softly. "I'll tell them myself when… I'm ready."

Kyuubi nodded. He knew it was never his place to tell their parents about his little brother's affairs and he never had the intentions of tattling about it from the start.

Naruto smiled. He loved the understanding he shared with his elder brother even though he tended to be a pain in the ass sometimes. "Thanks," he said meaningfully.

Kyuubi ruffled Naruto's hair. "Now hurry up and reply before that Uchiha throws a hissy fit and you have to go running all the way to his house to calm him down,"

Naruto began typing on his phone now. "We've promised not to meet for this week we are home," Naruto said not looking up from his phone where he was typing at a scary speed.

He looked up distractedly when Kyuubi gasped loudly. "What?" Kyuubi asked and then a second later he laughed. "And I am assuming it was your idea, right?"

Naruto nodded still distracted by his typing.

"And he agreed?" Kyuubi asked laughing with disbelief at the stupid idea his younger brother had come up with.

Naruto clicked his tongue when he made a mistake and hastily tapped on the backspace key on his phone. "Well it did take a lot of coaxing, but yeah," he shrugged and went back to his game.

"Indeed!" Kyuubi let out a bark of laughter. Then he clapped his hands together before stuffing them in his pockets again. "Okay kid, now hurry up with those love letters to your boyfriend. Our game is still paused, remember?" he said pointing his thumb towards the door.

Naruto nodded and screamed 'be there in a minute' to Kyuubi's back and quickly typed up his explanation as well as the events from last night in the bar with his friends. He thought about telling Sasuke about the interesting developments regarding Kiba's love life as well but decided against it.

Once he was done, he hit send with a flourish and threw his phone on his bed. Then he thought about the possibility of Sasuke replying. Sighing, he dived for the phone on the bed and once he grabbed hold of it, he pocketed the device and whistling softly to himself, proceeded to run down the stairs to where they were playing the game.

* * *

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke was sleeping when his phone rang. He opened his eyes disgruntled and squinted at the screen for a moment. He picked up the phone and closed his eyes again trying to retrieve that delicious dream he was having of Naruto.

"Yes Itachi," he mumbled sleep beginning to fog his mind again.

"Were you sleeping Sasuke?" Itachi asked surprised when he heard the sleepy slurred voice.

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered throatily drawing his legs up and curling up into a ball. The temperature of the air conditioner in the room was too low and he was beginning to feel a little cold.

"This late in the evening?" he asked and Sasuke frowned. He turned around and looked at his bedside alarm clock.

His eyes widened when he looked at the time noting it was already six forty-five in the evening.

He had a dinner appointment with Suigetsu at seven-thirty!

"Fuck!" The curse slid out before he could wrap his tongue around it.

He heard Itachi's low warning growl at the other end. Itachi was never one to use uncouth language. As a matter of fact, Sasuke couldn't remember the last time his brother had used profanity.

"Sorry," he quickly apologized as he jumped out of bed and ran to his wardrobe to pick out a suitable outfit.

"I just called to tell that I'll arrive at five in the morning tomorrow," Itachi said and Sasuke frowned.

"So?" he asked rummaging through his drawers for a pair of socks.

He heard Itachi exhale deeply. "So I want you to be on time when you come to pick me up," he spoke as if he was explaining stuff to a child.

"Why can't you just take a taxi home?" he asked pulling off his t-shirt with one hand and then switching ears to pull it off the other hand.

"Sasuke because I want you to come and pick me up?" Itachi said and Sasuke rolled his eyes as he put on the soft purple shirt and then switched ears again to push his hand into the sleeve.

"Fine," Sasuke relented. "If I'm awake and sane, I'll come," he said and then when his eyes fell on the bedside clock again, "Itachi I have to go now," he said hurriedly and hung up without letting his brother say anything else.

It was already seven!

Sasuke grit his teeth as he yanked on his pants and looked at himself in the mirror. He was going to be late, he cursed mentally when he saw the hurricane he had for hair on his head and decided to text Sui in advance.

This would take a really long time.

* * *

_**Uzumaki Household**_

Naruto sighed contentedly as he patted his stomach and sat back in his chair. The beef _udon _Minato cooked was the best in the world. He looked at his father in gratitude and smiled, too stuffed to say anything. Minato saw the expression his son wore and laughed ruffling Naruto's hair gently.

"Like it that much?" he asked and laughed some more when Naruto kept nodding his head in happiness.

Naruto panted with the quick movement and drank some water. "It's been so long since I had homemade udon," he said.

Kushina frowned at that. "Why? Don't you two make it there in Suna?" she asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes. His mother had already asked him questions about his food and lifestyle dozens of times since he had gone to Suna and yet here she was, asking the same question again. "No time for such extravagant meals, Mom," he said.

Minato and Kyuubi nodded in understanding but schooled their heads once Kushina looked at them sharply. "So you mean you're always eating instant food?" she asked disbelievingly.

Naruto's mood was dampening by the second. Despite the countless arguments with his mother on the same topic, here he was having a face off for the first time in his life with the head of his family and judging by the scowl which kept growing by the second, things were not looking up for him, at all.

"Um," he chose his words wisely. Nobody could escape the wrath of Uzumaki Kushina. "We do make _onigiri _or _miso _soup at home…" he trailed off uncertainly when his mother's expression turned thunderous. Naruto's eyes quickly darted to his brother and father for help but they just looked at him pitifully and then hesitantly at Kushina who was staring determinedly at Naruto.

"What about vegetables?" she demanded and instantly Naruto groaned.

"Mom I _hate _vegetables!" he whined like a toddler who is forced to eat something he didn't like.

Kushina's look turned murderous. "No vegetables, instant food, ramen this, ramen that…Uzumaki Naruto you're in trouble," she said and Naruto blanched.

This was death. No scratch that, this was worse than a death sentence.

He turned to his brother and father and both of them were looking elsewhere studiously making sure to avoid gazes with either him (because that would mean they pitied him and Kushina would see it) or at Kushina (because then Kushina would see the pity in their eyes and they'd get their ass chewed).

Kushina stood up and began clearing the table. Immediately all men stood up to help her out. Considering how foul her mood was, it was best if they stayed on her good side.

Kyuubi immediately tied the apron around his waist, pulled on the rubber gloves and took his place beside the sink for the washing while Minato picked up the cloth for drying the dishes. Meanwhile, Naruto morosely picked up the plates with the leftover food and brought it to the counter. In the background, they could all hear Kushina mumbling something under her breath as she went about cleaning the table.

"Tomorrow," her voice boomed and immediately all three men flinched. "You're only eating vegetables for all your meals," she announced and it was almost comic to watch Naruto's morose expression turn to pure horror.

_Why? Why did he ever think vacation with family was a good idea? He should have just run away with Sasuke when the man had suggested the idea…_

* * *

_**Three Days before the Start of the Vacations**_

_**Uchiha & Uzumaki Apartment, Suna**_

Naruto woke up to Sasuke nibbling his neck slowly. He hummed appreciatively and turned to let Sasuke shower the same attention to the other side.

"Must we really go home?" Sasuke's sexy voice murmured into Naruto's ear as he bit an earlobe.

"Why? Do you have somewhere in mind?" he asked opening his eyes and pulling Sasuke closer.

"Not particularly," Naruto stretched his arms above his head and smiled languidly at Sasuke who climbed on top of Naruto and straddled his waist. "But I could always arrange something," he gave Naruto a very suggestive look.

Naruto smiled. "Sneaky aren't you? Where are you thinking of?" he asked tracing random circles on Sasuke's back.

Sasuke licked a strip of tanned neck and said," I was thinking the Country of Mist." He looked up at Naruto when the latter gasped.

"Country of Mist is _far_," Naruto whispered disbelief coloring his tone and sat up rousing Sasuke from his position on top of him.

Sasuke sighed. Honestly he had prepared himself for this. He knew that by far, Naruto was not just merely referring to the distance alone. He meant the trip was going to be expensive, _very _expensive. And while Sasuke came a little under the spendthrift category, Naruto was a very economical person which literally translated to the fact that neither would he _splurge _in such a trip nor would he let Sasuke spend his money in one.

"C'mon!" Sasuke coaxed him putting his hands on his shoulders and looking deeply into cobalt eyes. "We've _never _been to the Country of Mist!" he exclaimed making it sound like a shame.

Naruto stared at Sasuke with all the foreboding reminding Sasuke very much of his mother when she was absolutely unyielding. Sasuke looked down, defeated. "Sasuke," Naruto's voice sounding rationalizing and Sasuke braced himself for the lecture that was to follow. "We haven't been home in more than ten months, think about your parents, Itachi, our friends! There are so many people who wish to see us," Naruto said quietly and Sasuke tried to fight the guilt that those guileless blue eyes could invoke in him. All he had to do was look at them, once.

"Fine," Sasuke said as if acceding to his fate looking away and pushing off Naruto.

But Naruto was quicker. He grabbed Sasuke's head and looked into his eyes. "Listen," he said. He pushed his face towards his own again when Sasuke's eyes slid away, "Look here," he commanded and despite his will Sasuke looked back into his only to see understanding and patience in those oceanic depths, "Teme don't be like this," he said purposely using the nickname he knew Sasuke liked a lot.

Sasuke huffed in defeat. He looked down for the fraction of a second and when he looked up again he smiled. No matter where he went, at least they'd be together. He forced his brain to clear itself of all the fancy places he had seen on the internet about the Country of Mist and instead thought about Konoha, of his family and friends. Konoha was a place very dear to him. It was his birthplace but more than that, he loved it because it was the place where he had first met Naruto.

"Fine," he smiled and Naruto's body eased up at the sincerity he saw in that smile. "But next vacation, we're going where I want to go." His eyebrows drew up in challenge and he smiled when Naruto pulled him down by his neck for a kiss.

"Sure," he murmured against Sasuke's lips and grinned when Sasuke parted his lips for the kiss, "as long as it's not the Country of Mist," he joined his lips to Sasuke's to quiet any arguments.

* * *

_**Day 3**_

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke woke up groggily to look around for his phone. Locating it wasn't so difficult given how it was ringing so loudly.

He stared at the gadget with all the hatred he could muster and saw his brother's name and face staring back at him with not much love.

"What?" he barked picking it up, frowning heavily at the disturbance it had caused at (he looked at his nightstand) three o'clock.

"You are supposed to come at five in the morning Itachi! Five in the fucking morning!" he repeated for emphasis.

He heard Itachi hiss at the use of profanity but he was currently past caring. _Nobody_ messed with his sleep. Hell, even Naruto kept his distance!

"I was just calling as a precaution," Itachi said not even sounding remotely guilty about disturbing Sasuke.

"Well thank you," Sasuke said dryly, "now go board your plane and call me when you've _reached_," he spoke threateningly lest Itachi did not get the message.

He hung up and threw his phone across the bed to wherever it reached.

He was asleep even before it fell off the bed and on the carpet with a soft thud.

* * *

_**Two hours later…**_

Sasuke shivered as he pulled his jacket tighter to his body and rubbed his hands. He clamped his teeth tight and checked his watch cursing Itachi and wondering when his dear brother would show up. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets deciding to wait patiently till that moron showed up.

Ten minutes later, he saw his brother step out in a large black overcoat, his ponytail tied loosely and his thick glasses perched atop his nose. Rather than smiling when their eyes met, Sasuke scowled at him pointing to his wrist watch. Itachi just smirked at him and did something so uncharacteristic that Sasuke froze in shock.

"How've you been little brother?" Itachi asked and sure enough Sasuke felt his arms around him.

"Fine," Sasuke asked fighting to keep the shock from showing in his voice as Itachi's arms tightened around him. It was then that the full weight of what Itachi was doing struck Sasuke. "Eat something wrong on the plane, Itachi?" he asked pulling away.

Itachi smirked. "Is it so uncharacteristic to hug my younger brother?" he asked.

Sasuke shrugged. Honestly he didn't think Itachi would do something like this. He bent down to pick up Itachi's suitcase as Itachi went ahead of him. When Itachi was about five steps ahead of him he saw Itachi turn and beckon him closer with a wave of his hand. He sighed and moved forward wondering what on earth his brother could want.

Once they were in close proximity Itachi raised his hand and flicked him on the forehead like he'd done millions of times in his childhood. "That's why you're such a foolish younger brother." He wrapped an arm around Sasuke who tried to shrug him off but each time he made that attempt, Itachi's grip just tightened on his shoulder.

He laughed when Sasuke hissed. It was just like old times.

When they stepped out of the airport, Itachi took a deep breath of the early morning air.

No matter where he went, Konoha was worlds apart. God, how he had missed this!

He let go of Sasuke and watched with amusement as his brother dumped his suitcase in the backseat of his car and proceeded towards the driver's seat.

He moved towards the passenger's side and opened his door.

He couldn't wait to get home.

* * *

_**Uzumaki Household**_

Silence hung thick and heavy at the dining table where Minato, Kushina and Kyuubi were sitting and watching with rapt fascination as Naruto picked up a piece of broccoli and brought it closer to his mouth. Naruto had tears running down his face as he slowly oh-so-slowly brought the green vegetable he detested so much closer to his mouth.

Once it reached his mouth, his lips refused to part to let it in, very well aware of its vile and pathetic taste. No matter how much Naruto forced his willpower into them; no matter how hard he tried they just wouldn't open.

This was a nightmare.

"Hurry up," Kushina snapped at him and he started too distracted and saddened to remember his family watching him. He looked up with lost blue eyes and immediately Kyuubi and Minato melted. Rather than the twenty-six years old that Naruto had grown up to be, Naruto looked much like the eleven year old who would be subjected to the same torture every time he refused to eat his vegetables.

"Kushina," Minato said softly placing a hand on her shoulder, "let the poor boy be," he whispered almost pleadingly.

The look Kushina shot him not just shut him up but also Kyuubi who was in the process of making a similar plea on his behalf of his younger brother.

"I can't do it," he finally said dropping the broccoli and his chopsticks on his plate and throwing his napkin along with it. He gave his mother a rebellious look and said, "If eating at home means being subjected to such…such _torture_ then I'd rather not eat all!" With that he stood up and walked out of the house leaving the house in stunned silence.

When he was safely away from the house and had turned the corner, he leaned against the wall and begged his knees to stop shaking.

His only prayer was that his mother would forgive him for this stunt. That and she wouldn't beat him like the last time he had pulled the same stunt.

_God please save me!_

He pulled out his cell phone and typed a quick message to Sasuke explaining his helpless dilemma only to hit backspace and pocket his phone when he thought about the last time he had done this and the way Sasuke had laughed at him.

He could still remember the way he had stayed hidden in Sasuke's house with Mikoto pampering him while he wished he had a mother like Sasuke's. And then, one fine day, Kushina had barged in, dragged Naruto to their house by the ear.

The memory of the way Kushina beat him to a pulp when she took him home made him shudder and take out his phone again in hopes of contacting any of his friends for assistance. However, the only number he could think of was Sasuke's and steeling himself for the fate that awaited him, he quickly typed a message and hit sent.

His only wish was that Sasuke wouldn't make him feel as horrible as his mother did.

* * *

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke watched with some kind of morbid pleasure as his mother smothered Itachi with love. Well, Mikoto's definition of love involved a lot of hugging and head patting so currently Itachi was seated on the couch slightly stiff with Mikoto next to him patting his head, cooing and cawing like a protective mother hen. Sasuke found great amusement in the way Itachi bristled a little when she pulled his cheeks or kissed him on the forehead. He winced slightly when he remembered the way he had been subjected to the same treatment when he had come home three days ago.

Nevertheless, Sasuke had to give him credit for putting up with it. He could still remember the way he had run to the bathroom as an excuse to get away from his mother's affections. It wasn't like he didn't love her enough, but there was only a bit of _physical _aspect of it that he could take.

He felt a bit of pity when Mikoto wrapped Itachi in her arms and squeezed the life out of him. He smirked as he leaned forward, "I think that's enough loving for today, Mother," he said placing his hand on her knee and smiling wickedly at Itachi. "You wouldn't want to exhaust all your affections for him in one go, would you?"

Mikoto scoffed at him. "Now really," she said but this time Itachi drew away as well.

"Mother I need to take a bath. I'm tired and sweaty from the journey," he said and against her will Mikoto dropped her arms. Both Sasuke and Itachi noted the pout that she wore. She reminded them of a child denied her favorite toy and their hearts somewhat squeezed. They knew they visited her rarely but they assumed she understood the burden work placed on anyone.

Itachi turned around before he could change his mind about taking a bath rather than joining his mother on the couch again. However, when he reached the door, he turned around and smirked at Sasuke. "You know Mother, you could always cuddle Sasuke. You will be surprised to know how much he misses your hugs. He calls me often complaining about not being able to get your hugs."

"Is that true?" Mikoto asked staring wide-eyed at her elder son who nodded. She then turned motherly love filled eyes towards her younger son and a second later, Sasuke was unable to breathe as his mother crushed him in her 'embrace'.

He was going to get Itachi for this!

He was still cursing Itachi for the mean pig that he was when his phone vibrated.

He extracted himself quickly and practically _ran _to his room to check it. He kissed his screen when he saw Naruto's name both in love and the fact that Naruto had rescued him (in a way).

He opened the message and the smile on his face just got broader and broader with every word he read that by the end of it, he was practically laughing at the screen. An image from their school days flitted across his mind which was overcome by the regret that this time he could not hide Naruto in his house the way he had the last time.

He thought for a moment before hitting the reply button.

"_Go be a man and talk to her."_

* * *

_**Uzumaki Household**_

Naruto entered the house on tip toes peeking in every nook and cranny lest his mother come out from some shadow with a broom in her hand and beat the crap out of him.

"Naruto," Naruto froze in his step as he heard that voice. His insides turned to ice as he turned agonizingly slowly towards the dining table where his mother was seated. "Come here."

It wasn't a plea. It was a simple request and his heart thud maddeningly in his chest as he took those dreaded steps in her direction.

She appeared to be writing something apparently totaling bills and budget calculations. He halted a good distance away from the table as precaution and watched with bated breath as she took off her wire-rimmed glasses and placed them neatly on the table beside the mechanical pencil and eraser she had been using to do her calculations. She stayed quiet as she looked up at him her violet eyes giving away nothing.

"Mom," he said uncertainly as he shifted from one foot to the other. He was trying to gauge her mood so that he could make his plea accordingly.

Kushina didn't say a word. She just held out a hand for him and he stared down at it, more uncertain than ever. "Take it," his mother's voice was colorless which was even scarier because now once he held her hand, he would know her mood. If she was angry, she could crush it in the fraction of a second and if happy, she would talk rationally.

He wiped his sweaty hand on his jeans and took a deep breath before placing it in hers. His heartbeat doubled when Kushina's hand wrapped around it and for a moment he really thought she was going to crush his hand but then she led to the chair beside her and gestured for him to sit down. She let his hand go once he was seated and asked, "Do you really hate vegetables that much?"

He looked down at his hands which were clasped on his lap. "Yes Mom," he answered.

She sighed, shoving away all the papers, calculator, stationery and regarded him with her hands under her chin. "Fine, you're a grown boy now so I won't force you anymore," she said. "But I'll have you know that as a mother it really worries me to see your diet so unhealthy. Do you do the same thing in Suna?" she asked but this time she leaned forward and took Naruto's hand gently and held it.

Naruto shook his head. He did really hate vegetables but Sasuke always made it a point to buy them regularly and feed Naruto. He always insisted on a balanced diet and made sure Naruto stuck to it too. If Naruto disagreed then he would emotionally blackmail him by talking about how life would suck if Naruto got sick and ultimately Naruto had no choice but to relent and eat the goddamned vegetables. "No, I've told you before, Sasuke cooks them every day."

Kushina nodded running a soothing thumb over Naruto's palm. "Then it is okay, I guess. This reminds me, I need to call him and invite him to dinner. Will you make the call or shall I?" she asked letting go of Naruto's hand and closing all her accounting books. She stood up to put them away and Naruto stood up too.

"I told you Mom he can't come, he has a busy schedule," Naruto reminded her moving to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

Behind him, Kushina put her hands on her hips. "Now really!" she said and looked at Naruto with something akin to disbelief in her voice. "He'll come running if you ask him," she said very confident in her abilities when it came to persuading Sasuke.

Naruto shrugged. "Fine, I'll ask because you want me to." Naruto was pretty sure that there was no way in hell Sasuke would come because their promise still stood and Sasuke would rather cut his arm and leg than break a promise.

He went up to his room and fished out his phone.

_Thanks for the advice teme it worked wonders (and also the fact that you cook vegetables EVERY SINGLE DAY), _he hit send and rolled against his pillows wallowing in their softness. A minute later, his phone vibrated and he pounced towards the device quickly reading the text.

_You're welcome. I knew she would understand. So what's up? _He frowned at the way Sasuke was always right about stuff. He decided to let it go.

_You tell me! You're the one with the elder brother at home. How's Itachi? Did he get subjected to the special love and attention your Mother gives everyone? _He grinned recalling the way he had been subjected to the same care every time he went over to the Uchiha's.

_Yes. As a matter of fact Mother is currently cooking all of his favorites. He's sitting in the kitchen listening to Mother chatter non-stop about the neighbor's cats. Quite worried about him aren't you? If you want I can transfer the phone to him and you can talk all you want._ Naruto grinned at the hint of jealousy he detected in Sasuke's words.

_Aw, now you don't have to get all anal on me when I talk about Itachi. He's a nice guy and I like talking to him, okay. _He hit send grinning as he anticipated Sasuke's reply.

_I'm giving the phone to him, you can chat with the "nice" Itachi all you want. _Naruto hollered in laughter almost falling off the bed.

_Of course Itachi is a nice guy. He's caring and he sends you Christmas presents every year. Also, he's the only one who takes out time to come all the way from Otogakure to Suna and he doesn't really mind when we have sex each time he comes over and gives us all the space we want. So be grateful o' ye foolish little brother._ He knew he was playing with fire now but he sure as hell missed Sasuke.

_Thank you for the compliment Naruto-kun. Glad there is someone who appreciates my efforts. And I use headphones each night I'm there to ward off the disturbing noises you two make. Anyway, how've you been? Also "foolish little brother" is an endearment only I can use for my brother. Besides, you really wouldn't want to call him that, would you? _Naruto stared at his screen in disbelief. He couldn't _believe _Sasuke had actually given the phone to Itachi.

He typed a proper reply and chatted with Itachi for sometime before requesting him to pass the phone back to Sasuke so that they could talk.

_Had a pleasant chat with my brother?_

_Fuck you! I can't believe you actually gave him the phone. _Naruto complained.

_You know I always stick to my promises. _Sasuke's reply made him chuckle.

He ran his tongue across his teeth grinning wickedly as he typed. _Don't say things you don't mean. I might actually hold on to your words you know._

_Yeah? Then would you like to hold on to this one: I'm going to do you bareback when I see you next week. _Naruto's mouth dropped open, desire flooding in at those words.

_The thought Sasuke, fuck the thought! Do you know you're the only one in the world who can get me all hot and bothered in one fucking sentence? _Naruto typed furiously willing his half erection away.

_Oh do I now? Good to know that. But know that you're the only one hot and bothered here. _Sasuke's reply was instantaneous almost as if he was typing it out while he waited for Naruto's message.

_Fuck! Help me get it off! _Naruto pleaded when his erection refused to go down.

_I wish I could. And then you'd have to help me too you know. _Naruto grit his teeth in frustration.

_Okay you really need to distract us from this before I end up breaking the no masturbation rule. _Naruto typed furiously refusing to give into the urge to rub against the zip of his pants for friction.

_Um…sex with Sai? _Even when his erection went away at the hint of the image, he decided to tease Sasuke.

_Man he's hot! Not helping. _

_Excuse me? _Naruto smirked. Sure enough Sasuke couldn't take a taste of his own medicine. He refused to answer for a couple of minutes and his phone vibrated angrily just like he expected it would.

_You have some explanation to give Uzumaki. _He winced. The use of his surname meant trouble. Clearly Sasuke was not very pleased.

_Well, he looks like you…_He considered the pros and cons of that statement and then gave caution to the wind hitting send.

_I honestly have no idea what to say to that. It's a rather disturbing image in my head. _Sasuke's honesty had Naruto literally scrunching up his face with love.

_It is in mine too. Okay, now for the reason why I texted. Mom wants you to have dinner with us. _He made sure not to mention the "no meeting rule" leaving it up to Sasuke to decide.

_I wish I could but a dinner with your family means breaking the no meeting rule, right? _Naruto scrunched up his nose in remorse. Inasmuch as he missed Sasuke and wanted to break the rule about not meeting, he decided to stick to his rules.

_Okay, I'll tell Mom. _Naruto typed and threw his phone on the bed lying against his soft pillows. He smacked his head several times regretting his decision and wishing Sasuke would just once insist on coming. He was practically _dying _to see his boyfriend.

His phone beeped and he jumped in surprise not expecting Sasuke to actually reply to his text.

_Please tell her I'm sorry. You can always say it's because my brother is here and my week is booked. Also, don't be sorry and remorseful. I'll see you after a week and Naruto because of your stupid rule you'd better be prepared to get your brains fucked._

Naruto bit his lip in both regret and anticipation. This was getting more and more difficult with each passing day. On one hand he was having the time of his life with his family and friends and yet the fact that there was this week without Sasuke which hurt every time he thought about it.

He sighed as he locked his phone and threw it on the other pillow. He could do this. He could wait and then when he saw Sasuke again, there were going to be no rules. And in the future, if his brain suddenly turned demented, he vowed he'd make sure Sasuke never complied in his crazy schemes.

* * *

_**Day 4**_

_**Uchiha Residence**_

_He smiled when he saw Naruto standing against his bed stark naked, looking down and smiling at him. "You know I've been waiting for this day since an eternity bastard."_

"_Yes and so have I," he replied holding out his hand and grabbing Naruto's hand by the wrist and pulling him to the bed._

"_You wanted to do me bareback," Naruto's husky voice said as it rubbed circles on Sasuke's back. His short, blunt nails were driving Sasuke crazy. "And now you have me," Naruto whispered leaning forward for a kiss. Damn, he had missed this! _

_He leaned forward and his mouth met Naruto's with such ferocity that he was sure Naruto's lips would bleed once he was done with them. There was a hunger in him, primitive and overwhelming almost threatening to eat Naruto alive. Naruto was no better, his own tongue and teeth driving Sasuke to new heights of passion with every twist and lick._

_Naruto's hands raced wildly and freely across his skin, marking territories, showing ownership and it was all so arousing that Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. His erection stood hard and aching in between them begging for Naruto's touch. He thrust his hips forward to draw attention to the place and sure enough, Naruto's warm hand wrapped itself around it and he pumped slowly making Sasuke gasp._

_They pulled their mouths away and stared into each other's eyes hungrily. Almost as if in a dream Sasuke could read what Naruto wanted as he pushed his down on the mattress and leaned over him. He kissed, bit, licked and sucked all the way from the tanned forehead down to the sun kissed navel. He smiled when he felt Naruto's heat poke him rather impatiently under his chin._

_He took it in his mouth relishing the familiar scent and taste of the man he loved beyond all rational thoughts. His eyes wandered up that tanned torso to those burning blue eyes that were looking back at him with so much of heat he thought he was going to burst with the intensity of the emotion. Still staring into Naruto's eyes Sasuke sucked him off the way he had never done it before. He twisted his tongue along the slit and hummed when Naruto's breath caught in his throat. He smirked knowing that when Naruto's hands twisted in the sheets below him he was close to coming and a second later Sasuke was drinking the essence of the man he loved so much._

_Naruto panted harshly and a moment later when he had recovered, he turned on his stomach and obediently raised his hips to be taken. Sasuke's mouth watered at the sight of that tiny hole puckering in need, begging to be filled._

_Instantly Sasuke rose and took his place behind Naruto. He fumbled around for the lube but when he didn't find it, he frowned and looked at Naruto. "Lube?" he asked and Naruto looked around too looking for the lube._

"_I can't see it anywhere," he said and looked at Sasuke._

_Sasuke sighed, the motion rubbing his cock enticingly around Naruto's ass. "Naruto I can't wait," Sasuke whispered thrusting his hips forward and rubbing his cock against Naruto's ass crack._

"_Sasuke I'm not doing it without lube," Naruto said and suddenly he turned and began putting on his clothes without giving Sasuke a chance to speak._

"_Naruto, wait! Listen!" Sasuke called after him but Naruto just put on his underwear and jeans and grabbed his shirt and without giving Sasuke a backward glance walked away._

_Sasuke lay morosely on his stomach and willed his erection away. For some reason his erection refused to go away like it normally would when he was rejected sex. He turned his head and shifted his legs to adjust his cock when the friction against the mattress and his cock had the most sensational friction imaginable and before long he was thrusting frantically into the sheets._

_The normal short and quick thrusts suddenly turned hard as if someone was shaking him and he spread his legs further liking the increase in friction till he heard a voice._

"The last thing you want to do is come with my assistance foolish little brother," Sasuke opened his eyes with a snap and glared at his brother who was regarding him with something akin to amusement in his eyes. He made an exaggerated show of expressing his disgust by making a face. "Should have seen the way you were groaning and thrashing on the bed." He narrowed his eyes when Sasuke opened his mouth to cuss at his brother. "Honestly get a life!"

"Fuck you Itachi," Sasuke snarled as he began to shift his legs but remembering his predicament thought better of it and stayed on his stomach.

"I'll refrain from commenting on that," Itachi spoke pointedly pushing his glasses up his nose but his displease for the curses Sasuke could spew was evident on his face. "Anyway, get dressed quickly. Mother wants to talk to you about something." He was walking towards the door when a sound from the bed drew his attention. He turned back and stared at his brother's crazy bed head. "Did you just mumble something?"

Sasuke muttered something turning towards his brother and glaring daggers at him. When Itachi continued to glare at him he raised his eyebrows and stared challengingly at Itachi. Itachi finally sighed, shrugged and finally walked away without saying anything.

Sasuke cursed internally when he realized how close he had come to _coming. _He winced and got out of bed to get dressed all the while berating himself mentally for his lack of self restraint. It was only when he was hunting for his favorite lilac shirt when his phone vibrated and the hunt for the favorite shirt changed to grabbing the first shirt his hands could locate, putting it on and running without even thinking about anything else.

* * *

_**Uzumaki Household**_

So technically it wasn't Naruto's fault. The fault lay in the fact that his sleepy brain had not registered the fact that he wasn't in his apartment in Suna but at home with his folks. So naturally the bathroom he was so accustomed to using for more than ten months a year was the one he preferred. Hence, it really did not account for his fault when, with his eyes closed, he walked left towards the general direction of the toilet to sit down on it, he landed in the bathtub and bumped his head rather hard against the edge of the tub.

Now really, how could one blame the guy if the toilet in Suna was on the left while here the big bathtub sat in that place?

The icing on the cake: Kushina who had been vacuuming his room must heard the unmanly shriek that left his mouth when he fell into open space unthinkingly barged into the bathroom (relieved when she found the door unlocked) only to find her son in an awkward position in the bathtub with his pajamas around his ankles.

The embarrassment which ensued not only had Naruto make a hasty attempt at modesty but also had Kushina's face turn as bright red as her hair.

She just turned around and wordlessly walked out of the bathroom leaving an equally red Naruto sitting-standing in the bathtub with his pajamas still around his ankles.

_This is a nightmare_, Naruto thought holding his throbbing head with one hand and using the other to yank up his pajamas.

He walked out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of his bed waiting for the pain to subside a bit so that he could walk downstairs and grab himself an ice pack. His brain mercilessly kept playing the look of shock on his mother's face when she walked in on him with his pajamas down.

_Now really, _a rational voice in his head spoke up, _it's not like she hasn't seen it before! Besides you weren't masturbating or anything, okay? Just don't think about it and calm down!_ He nodded in agreement and let the incident go from his mind. He was just about to stand up when Kushina walked into his room carrying an ice pack her face contorted in pain and worry but still a little red with the embarrassment. She walked up to Naruto and he could see the way she was trying to hold herself back from getting angry at his carelessness.

She slowly removed his hand and put the ice pack making him wince at the coldness. A minute later, he felt her fingers probe the area softly to examine the level of damage. When Kushina was apparently satisfied at the fact that it wasn't a very big bump and Naruto wouldn't have to go to the hospital, she handed him the pack.

He took the pack from her and pressed it against his head closing his eyes.

"Is it hurting a lot?" Kushina asked after a moment. Naruto knew she was trying to keep her most of her worry out of her voice lest she scare Naruto.

He smiled at the care behind that thought. "Nah Ma," he said pressing the pack against his head some more. "I have a hard head." He said jokingly.

At that Kushina laughed the way only a mother could after realizing that her child was okay. "Oh yes you do," Kushina smiled at Naruto who smiled back. Naruto knew she was thinking about his elementary school days when she had to literally struggle with his subjects in school. He shuddered internally when he remembered the way he was beaten every time he couldn't remember any answer his mother asked during revision.

"I'll be fine, Mom," Naruto said after a while thinking that it was best that his mother go finish her chores rather than dwell on memories he'd rather forget. Why parents tended to treasure all these embarrassing tidbits of their children's life, he never understood.

Kushina stood up. She walked closer and once again checked his head making a soft satisfied noise when she felt the bump subside a little. The ice pack was doing its job rather nicely. "Let me know if you need a ride to the hospital," she offered walking towards the door and a second later Naruto heard the door shut.

He pressed the bump some more when the door opened again and this time Kyuubi stood on the door in a black sleeveless T-shirt and gray sweatpants. "Heard you fell into the tub?" Kyuubi asked amusedly as he eyed the ice pack on Naruto's head.

"Yeah, got confused between the bathrooms," Naruto mumbled. He put down the pack when his head began to grow numb from the ice and stared challengingly at his brother who was still looking amused by the entire thing.

"Pretty stupid of you don't you think?" Kyuubi asked and Naruto knew he was restraining himself from laughing.

"Yeah, you can go ahead and laugh all you want," Naruto spoke drolly and sure enough Kyuubi was grinning with his teeth flashing and his eyes almost closing in mirth. A moment later he was laughing so hard he was clutching his stomach to hold the spasms in check. "This is too good," he gushed lying on the bed next to where Naruto was seated. He howled with laughter some more while Naruto just gave him a long-suffering look.

Naruto was praying that the bump would vanish completely within the next two days because if Sasuke got wind of this he was going to kill Naruto. He could picture the look Sasuke would have on his face if he learned of this. First would be worry, next would be the ever present scowl and then when he would find out the reason then Naruto would be subjected to his 'are-you-stupid' look. And then using the most disgusted and pathetic tone that Sasuke could muster, Sasuke would actually _say the words_. "Naruto, are you stupid?" followed by a diatribe on how it is _absolutely impossible _for someone to forget where they are and how _absurd _it is to even _think _about forgetting where the toilet seat is and where the bathtub is.

Naruto shuddered at the mental image that popped into his head and then he heard his brother utter the words he _dreaded _the most. "Your boyfriend has got to see this!" Kyuubi said and Naruto turned sharply to stare at him only to get blinded by the flash of the camera of his own phone. Apparently, all this time he had been imagining Sasuke's reaction, Kyuubi had located his phone and was now typing a text with a picture of his bumpy head to the one person Naruto didn't want to report this incident to.

"Kyuu-nii no!" he shrieked lunging for his phone and wincing when the bump throbbed in pain. But his brother, the personification of evil that he was, kept the phone out of his reach till he was done typing the text and then he hit 'send' with a flourish and smirked at Naruto. But the happiness didn't last long because the next second Naruto was smacking him on the head with the ice pack.

He closed his eyes against the horror that awaited him. Sasuke would never let this pass.

_Never_

Sasuke's steps died the moment he reached Naruto's house. _'Naruto fell and hit his head against the bathtub' _the words of the message kept ringing in his ears and that image of Naruto with the ice pack had literally _branded_ itself into his retinas. Throughout the way, the worst thoughts kept plaguing his mind while rationality kept reminding him that Naruto looked fine in the picture and he wasn't that hurt.

He clutched his chest where his heart thudded madly from the adrenaline rush and panted harshly. He considered the pros and cons of barging inside the Uzumaki house, _to hell with _promises and patience, check the intensity of the wound himself for satisfaction and after determining that there was no need to see a doctor, just coolly walk out. But then there were other things to consider. Naruto's parents would find it weird if Sasuke just walked in unannounced to check on Naruto's wound. Let's face it, a friend doesn't just run over in the first set of clothes he can get his hands on only because a friend hit his head on the bathtub _especially _when the said friend looked fine in the picture and wasn't out cold or in the hospital. Also to add to that fact, Sasuke noted with grim disdain was the fact that he had worn his shirt inside out. So there was _no way _he could go and see Naruto.

But the love he bore for the crazy and careless _lunatic_ resurfaced and he wished more than anything else to go inside and just check for once. At the end, Sasuke turned around defeated and began to walk away.

He must have taken three steps when Kushina's voice stopped him short. Kushina was talking on the phone her voice low and urgent. Sasuke assumed she was telling someone about the accident. "I was so _scared _when I heard him shriek, Minato," she said her voice rising with worry. Against his better judgment, Sasuke found himself glued to the wall and shamelessly eavesdropping on the conversation. She hummed in agreement to what Minato must have said. "But to see him there in an awkward position in the bathtub with his pajamas around his ankles, Minato you wouldn't believe how embarrassed I was!" Kushina said and Sasuke's eyes widened in stupefied horror.

Suddenly he was hit by this urge to laugh. He quickly stepped away from the wall where he had been hiding not a minute ago and made his way home as fast as possible. Once he was at a safe distance, he let go and cringed when a giggle escaped his mouth. Maybe it was the relief over having Naruto safe (even though he couldn't catch a glimpse of his blond lover) or the fact that Kushina's predicament seemed funny as hell but he laughed while walking home.

He pulled out his cell phone evil grin intact and typed a quick text and smiled when he received a reply almost instantly.

He laughed as he unlocked his phone and read the message.

_HOW DID YOU KNOW?_

He laughed, and then covered his mouth with his hands when people turned to stare at him. However the smile did not fade from his face as he nodded and made up his mind.

He was never going to live this down.

* * *

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke fought to keep his face straight as Mikoto fussed over Itachi's hair. Itachi had agreed (or had rather been coerced into) a dinner date with his mother and right now they were just getting dressed for that. Although Mikoto wanted to be all secretive about the fact that she was taking her son for an arranged blind date without his knowledge, her kimono and makeup and currently the way she was cooing over Itachi and tugging his hair into place, had Itachi's eyebrows drawing up in suspicion.

Sasuke had earlier pointed it out that her kimono would cause suspicion but a wave of his mother's hand and that scoff had him shrugging. For the fraction of a second, he was inclined to warn his brother but then he thought about all the times when helping his brother just had _him _suffering the consequences so he just stayed silent and munched on a cookie.

He carefully avoided eye contact with Itachi and instead chose to peruse through his image gallery only to avoid those ever knowing eyes.

"Mother please," Itachi finally burst out fighting to keep the exasperation out of his voice, "my hair and clothes are just fine!"

Mikoto made tutting sounds in disagreement as she carefully smoothed her hand over the lapels of Itachi's black suit jacket. "Now it is perfect," Mikoto said patting her son gently on the shoulder and smiling up at him. "Let's go!" she said linking her arm with his and together they made their way outside to the car.

Alone in the living room, Sasuke cackled with glee as he imagined the horror on Itachi's face when he would learn about the blind date. He rubbed his hands together impatient to know about the outcome of the evening already.

His phone buzzed and he smiled some more thinking about what Naruto had said regarding this crazy scheme of getting Itachi to marry.

_She's playing with fire. Itachi is never going to forgive her when he finds out. _Sasuke's brow furrowed when he thought about how sure Naruto was in his judgment of Itachi. In all of his assumptions Naruto made regarding Itachi, Naruto was always spot on most of the times. The understanding they had was crazy and more times than Sasuke would have liked to admit, he did get jealous of their friendship.

_What makes you say that? _He had asked half-guessing the answer Naruto would give.

_Itachi loves Kyuu-nii. _Naruto's short and simple reply made him wonder just how was it that someone as hyper and emotional as his boyfriend could understand someone as stoic and as _anal _as his elder brother. But then again, Naruto was dating Sasuke – the younger brother, another Uchiha. And if anything one of the reasons why Sasuke was mad about Naruto was also because of the understanding they shared.

After a while, he went to the kitchen sink and rinsed out his glass of milk all the while thinking about Itachi and his evening. He missed Naruto terribly, thinking about what the blond man would say if he were here and the two of them were waiting to hear about the details together.

He was just drying out the glass when his phone rang. Frowning, he put down the towel after wiping his hands and pulled out his phone. He smiled when he saw the name flashing on the screen and bit his lip in consideration torn between leaving his elder brother to his demise and helping him out. In the end, he dragged the green icon and answered the call.

"_You knew about this, didn't you?" _Itachi's voice sounded strained and unforgiving.

Sasuke shuddered internally. "Well, yes," he answered.

"_Whose side are you on in this?" _Itachi's voice came out angry and frankly if Sasuke were put in the same spot, he'd be angry too.

"Yours," he answered almost instantly. It wasn't a matter that needed consideration anyway. The answer was obvious. "Itachi, Mother had sworn me to secrecy."

"_You could have _warned _me at least? Maybe just given me a sign?" _Itachi sounded so heartbreakingly desperate that Sasuke felt pity for him.

"Sorry Itachi," he said as a means to make amends but smilingly since he found the situation so goddamned amusing.

"_I'm going to kill both you and mother for this," _Itachi's voice sounded desperate and Sasuke couldn't help but laugh at the empty threat.

"Relax _smart elder brother_. This is just a blind date! It's not like you have to marry the girl!" he reasoned opening the above drawer and re-placing the now clean glass.

"_Fuck you_," Itachi hung up and Sasuke laughed.

Itachi was swearing. This was awesome!

* * *

_**Restaurant Tsukuyomi**_

Itachi glared at the mirror as he shoved his phone into the inner pocket of his suit jacket. He could not believe he had been so gullible to assume that his mother was just asking him out on a dinner date. He had been suspicious about the way she kept mussing and trussing his hair and set his clothes in order but his brain had refused to tread on the terrain of a blind date.

He was seething with fury and why wouldn't he? If anything what his mother and Sasuke had plotted to do accounted for nothing short of _betrayal. _But then again, this sort of a thing could have been expected out of his mother given her insecurities and constant worries about his future but _Sasuke? _Now he knew why that little dipshit of his younger brother was so engrossed in his phone. Those dark eyes of his would have been a dead giveaway and Sasuke would rather _die _than foil his mother's plans.

He could still picture the way his mother had literally _flown _across the room to greet Haruno _oba_-san the moment they had stepped in. She pretended to look all energetic as she all but pounced on the elderly Haruno and placed her hand on her arm steering them clearly away. His eyes had narrowed a little when his mother flitted away and seated herself with the Haruno woman who had a nasty reputation for match-making. He was still trying to compose himself at being left all alone when a small voice behind him had him looking down at a young woman in a dainty kimono looking up at him shyly.

"_Uchiha Itachi-san?" _the young woman had spoken in a barely audible tone giving Itachi little choice but to bend down and listen to her. He had answered with a clipped yes and then a moment later it had struck when she blushed and bowed before him.

He hated to be put on the spot and that's exactly what his mother had done. But Itachi was nothing if not an epitome of stoicism. He had recovered his composure almost instantly and offered her a small smile as he led her to an empty table playing the role of the perfect gentleman as he pulled out her chair.

Then he had excused himself to express his state of mind to his little brother who in all honesty he wanted to throttle slowly, oh-so-slowly for putting him through this.

He stared at his reflection some more a little surprised by the calmness that reflected back. He bent down and took off his glasses placing them next to the basin. He turned on the faucet and washed his face. Grabbing a couple of paper towels from the basket, he was wiping his face when he looked into the mirror and stared and stared some more.

Standing right behind him and staring at his face in the mirror reflection mirroring the same expression as Itachi was Uzumaki Kurama.

He had imagined it for a long time. Long after Itachi had packed his bags and flown off to Otogakure to pursue his education, Kyuubi had sat in the dark and spent endless nights just thinking about the expression Itachi would have on his face when they met again. And meet they would firstly because Konoha was a small town so there was a limit to how much Itachi could avoid him. Secondly, they moved in the same circles. True Itachi could have been extra careful about hanging out with their mutual friends but some day in some social functions they would have to meet. But majorly because Kyuubi wanted to meet the man he could never get out of his mind, once, just once again. The only shock was that it took them seventeen years.

But meeting like this in the washroom after a span of seventeen years was not how he had planned it. Neither had he thought about a meeting when he had a date in a long, long time and _especially_ not when the said date was fixing his clothes after the blow job Kyuubi had given him in the toilet cubicle Kurama had left him in not ten seconds ago. This meeting was a nightmare.

Itachi composed himself after the fraction of a second and his expression turned neutral. "Kurama," he regarded Kyuubi coolly in the mirror.

The reason why Itachi hadn't turned and acknowledged him struck Kyuubi as a sign of nervousness. But he couldn't be too sure considering too much time had lapsed between them. He always thought he knew Itachi like the back of his hand but that belief had changed drastically when Itachi all but dropped the bomb of flying away to pursue his career without even letting Kyuubi know about it. The anger resurfaced again when he stared into those depthless black eyes – sexy, mysterious and _beautiful _black eyes. Yes, his eyes could still take Kyuubi's breath away. Just a sight and Kyuubi was back to the teenager who had been madly in love with Itachi.

"Itachi," he spoke equally coolly folding his arms across his chest. He made a show of looking at Itachi with a sense of wariness that he knew would have flipped the old Itachi completely out of his stoic shell. The old Itachi could tolerate anything but being disregarded. However, he thought eyeing this brand-new- Itachi who stood before him in his impeccable suit and fake perfection, he couldn't really figure out what this man wanted.

"Long time," Itachi said as he shifted his gaze from Kyuubi's eyes to the right of the sink from where he picked up his glasses and put them on.

Kyuubi made a noncommittal sound at the back of his throat and prayed his date wouldn't come out. It would be extremely unsightly if he were to come and smile shyly up at Kyuubi. He could have tolerated that behavior on any other occasion, hell he could have even _flaunted _his _trick_ but not in front of Itachi. Not in front of the only man he had ever truly loved. Not in front of the only man who could make him _yearn_ in the blink of any eye. For Itachi to have that effect on him even now when he had spent all this time hating the man, despising him, _loathing _him, doing everything he could to _forget _him. He really hadn't moved on, had he?

And then Itachi looked up and Kyuubi's breath caught in his throat and he could swear he forgot everything. Despite the seventeen years, the look in his eyes was the same – of love, of want, of care, of being the only person.

Suddenly the world ceased to exist and all that seemed right was to unfold his arms and in three quick strides walk up to Itachi, grab him by his neck and turning Itachi's head to his direction kiss him like there was no tomorrow.

His heart rate tripled when Itachi closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

This was where he belonged. This was perfection.

And nothing else mattered…

* * *

_**Hotel Nishi**_

Itachi could not think anymore. His brain had shut down and the only thing that seemed to make sense was to slide the card key across the slot while Kyuubi's hot tongue laved at his neck.

His necktie was askew and the first button of his shirt was either torn or still intact but he was past caring. His hands shook with the intensity of his emotions and he tried to take a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

A small part of him could not believe it. It seemed to _surreal_ that Kyuubi was here with him after seventeen years, that even without saying anything Kyuubi had forgiven him, that Kyuubi still hadn't forgotten it, that Kyuubi still wanted him as much he wanted him.

It was crazy and his heart soared at the thought. He twisted the handle and was literally pushed in by Kyuubi who grabbed him and practically lifted him up to carry him to the bed. Itachi did not even time to draw a breath when Kyuubi claimed his lips again.

And then, just like that, they were back to the seventeen year olds again. Transported to a time when Kyuubi knew Itachi's body better than his own, every nook and every crevice that caused Itachi to moan, or squirm, every dip and curve that invoked a sigh, a giggle and every bite of those sinful lips. Kyuubi knew them all.

They moved together in perfect synchronization like old dancers performing a duet after centuries. Every thrust, every turn, every movement held so much of meaning that they didn't need words. In fact, no words could have conveyed the emotions that a simple kiss which Kyuubi laid on Itachi's forehead.

_I've missed you._

And the way Itachi rose up to touch his lips to Kyuubi's as a means of apology. The need that Kyuubi expressed by licking the nape of Itachi's slender neck and the response Itachi gave by lifting his hips and pressing himself against Kyuubi in selfless abandon.

Their bodies said it all.

And when they were joined together and Kyuubi moved, it was heaven and hell rolled into one. But there was nothing Itachi would change, nothing he would overwrite because a love like theirs wasn't one that could have been written off, could have been justified, and could have been explained. Because now he knew after denying himself the only man who mattered for seventeen years, if he were to make the same mistake again then history would again rewrite itself and he'd still be here with the same man.

This was his place. There was nowhere to run.

He loved Kyuubi and with every thrust against his prostrate, Kyuubi just branded it harder and deeper till they merged into one and the world lost its essence.

* * *

_**Club Fire Bullets**_

Naruto wiggled his ass a little bit as he bit his lip and asked the pretty girl beside him to dance. She smiled as she took his extended hand and Naruto bent down and kissed it exaggeratedly. Behind him Sakura laughed as she took a picture.

"This is so going to Sasuke!" she gushed as she tapped on her phone with a lime-green nail and smiled in accomplishment after a minute.

Naruto shook his head and led the girl to the dance floor. The music was the type he preferred and he shook his head to the beat and caught the girl by her waist to bring her closer so that they could dance properly. After that, it was a string of people whose face he couldn't even recall but hell the dance floor was awesome!

He was slapping someone's ass and biting his lip and thrusting forward when his ear was being pinched and then yanked and suddenly he was off the dance floor and staring at the pissed off face of Haruno Sakura.

"Huh?" he demanded in confusion rubbing his throbbing left ear.

"We're going home," Sakura said in a voice which brooked no arguments. She grabbed his hand and twined it with hers and made to move.

Naruto regarded her with a pout. "But I _love _this song!" he said argumentatively and Sakura huffed. Naruto smiled secretly when he saw the conflict on her face between letting him have this dance and dragging him out of there.

He moved with the beat to show her how badly he wanted to dance to that song and grinned when she finally let go of his arm. "Last dance," she said but Naruto was already off to mesh and thrust between hot and sweaty bodies from all the dancing.

He was groping a very soft and pert butt when he was being dragged once more. "It's been more than one hour since I let you go to the dance floor. What are you some dance animal?" she asked glaring at him.

Naruto smiled charmingly at her. "Oh but you _love _me Sakura," he said with so much of assurance that Sakura laughed in surprise.

"Yes I do and that's why all your actions have been recorded and sent to your phone so that tomorrow when you sober up you can reflect upon your actions. Now let's get our asses home before my mother comes running to the club with a broom. As it is, she is mad over the fact that grandma has gone to meet Sasuke's mother."

Naruto smiled stupidly barely listening and still shaking to the beat. He wrapped an arm around Sakura and smirked at her, "You're so attractive Sakura," he said and giggled in apparent amusement. He went and sat down on an empty stool and a minute later he was out like a lamp.

Sakura just sighed, rolling her eyes upwards and begging for patience. She patted his cheek and tried waking him up. After several attempts when he seemed to get up, she placed one of his arms around her neck and half carried/ half dragged him out of the club. Once outside she was trying to hail a cab for the two of them when Naruto passed out again and a hand on her arm stopped her.

She looked up surprised at the super pissed off expression on Uchiha Sasuke's face. "Leave him to me," Sasuke's clipped voice had her frowning in confusion. "I can handle him better than you can," Sasuke said already moving forward to grab Naruto's hand when Naruto looked ready to fall. He pointed towards his car which the valet had just driven to the curb and said, "Get in, I'll drop you home."

Sakura looked a little taken aback but nevertheless got in and Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief when she sat at the back. He dragged Naruto towards the passenger seat and placed him carefully mindful of the morning bump on the blond man's head. Once he was done seating his lover, he adjusted the seat and Naruto's legs, buckled the seatbelt for security and shut the door. With that done, he moved towards the driver's seat and started the engine.

"Whose idea was it to meet in a club?" he asked Sakura keeping his voice neutral and trying to hide the anger he felt.

Sakura giggled. "That would be me," she said as she not-so-discreetly pulled up her strapless red and white short dress.

"Why?" Sasuke asked checking on Naruto to ensure the man was comfortable.

Sakura shrugged shifting her legs and placing one high-heeled white slipper clad foot behind the other. "I wanted to go drinking with him," she said.

"How much did he drink?" he asked her even though he kind of had a rough estimate as to how much Naruto had drunk. He hadn't even thought about anything else when he had received Sakura's message. Even though it seemed like déjà vu but he had run to ensure Naruto didn't do anything rash. However, he was too late when he noticed the way Naruto was hanging limply on Sakura's arm literally being dragged. He was glad for that fact though because if Naruto was still awake then it would have been difficult to show himself in front of Naruto and break their promise. As it was, coming to the club was bad enough.

Sakura laughed. "I don't know," she said and he nodded. It was stupid enough of him to ask anyways.

He turned and regarded Naruto with a look of complete displease. There were weird marks on his face and neck and upon close inspection he noticed lipstick marks and something that looked like saliva.

Once they reached Suna and this week was over, he was going to punish Naruto for this.

Sakura made random small talk often adding snippets about the Naruto's behavior at the club which only ticked off Sasuke's wrong vein till ultimately he told Sakura to keep quiet in not too polite tones. She blushed but nevertheless kept her silence. Sasuke was pretty relieved at the fact that she didn't bring up the not meeting promise. Maybe she had forgotten. That or maybe she didn't think of this as a meeting. Well technically it _wasn't, _he thought glancing at a still cold Naruto.

"We're here," Sasuke announced when they reached Sakura's house. He watched in the rear view mirror as Sakura picked up her white clutch bag and stepped out of the car. She pushed her hair behind her ear and Sasuke stepped out thinking that this would be over quickly if he were to step out and wish her goodnight.

She smiled shyly when Sasuke stepped out of the car and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. "So I'll go now," she said and Sasuke just nodded. "Goodnight," she said and turned and walked towards her house. She turned when she reached her gate and Sasuke gave her an obligatory smile and wave. Then he turned towards his car and sat down in the driver's seat and watched Sakura get in her house.

Sasuke buckled himself and looked at Naruto like a starved animal minus the lust. God he'd missed this man so much that it was hard to just see and not touch. Like an expensive jewel that is displayed for the world to see and none to touch, he just leaned forward and placed his arms on the steering wheel and just stared at Naruto. Reaching forward, he felt for the bump behind Naruto's head and smiled in relief when he felt the tiny, almost non-existent rise. He was still mad at Naruto but it was love and care that overrode every other feeling and Sasuke was glad Sakura or anyone else for that matter was not around to see the look on his face.

If anyone was to notice the large smile, he would lose his reputation for being the "ice prince" before he could wipe it off his face.

* * *

_**Day 5**_

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Mikoto paced around angrily clutching her phone to her chest and glaring at whatever came in her line of vision.

Sasuke stood to the side and safely out of her line of sight and scratched his head sleepily. He glanced up at the kitchen clock and closed his eyes in frustration. Clearly, calming his mother who was having a panic attack at six in the morning was not his cup of tea. He was just about to huff and tell his mother that Itachi knew how to take care of himself and that he was a big guy when she turned murderous eyes on him and his voice died in his throat.

"He has never been this irresponsible in his life!" She turned and Sasuke watched his father open his mouth in what he expected to be a similar argument to his but Sasuke couldn't be too sure considering how his mother's sharp eyes shut him up too. "The least he could have done was giving me a call!"

Sasuke looked down, defeated. Itachi was his mother's golden child and even though he knew she loved both equally dearly, he knew the corner she had for Itachi in her heart was softer than his. To add to that, Itachi had lived his life as the epitome of perfection and hence something like this was so unbecoming on his part that even Sasuke was slightly taken aback.

He was scratching the side of his neck and squelching the urge to pee when his mother rounded on him. "Not only did your brother disregard my wishes, he also disappeared from the restaurant where I had set up the blind date! Do you know how embarrassed I was when Yuki-chan's mother called me up and demanded an explanation? Such irresponsible behavior from my child! I need answers from him and he had better come in fast before I call the cops on him!"

"Calm down Mother," Sasuke said finally taking up the stand and walking up to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and said, "There must have been an emergency."

She looked at him for a second and then said, "If there was one, he should have explained it to Yuki-chan and then gone! How could he be so careless?"

Sasuke closed his mouth. He didn't know what to say to that. Itachi from his memory was never one to be so careless but he knew Itachi always had a sound reason for every action he did. Even if Itachi had been coerced into the blind date there was no way he would have just left his date like that.

He was just thinking about the best way to supplant his mother when the front door opened and Itachi walked in suit blazer draped across his arm and his necktie askew. He seemed surprised to find everyone in the kitchen.

"Good morning," he said politely and Sasuke knew his brother was just testing the waters.

His mother raced up to him before anyone could caution him. "Where have you been Itachi?" she demanded and Sasuke winced at the expression on his brother's face. It reminded him of that one time Itachi had been caught with a bottle of beer in his room when he was sixteen.

Itachi debated on what he had to say and finally he took a deep breath and looked at his mother. Sasuke had a bad feeling about this. "Mother," he said looking her right in the eye, "we need to talk."

_Uh-huh._

* * *

_**Uzumaki Household**_

Kyuubi walked into the kitchen to see his mother and father look up at him sharply. He stopped humming under his breath and regarded them curiously. "What?" he asked them as he took a seat at the dining table and looked back at them.

His mother put down her teacup and looked at him. "You seem happy Kyuubi,' she said and he smiled like a man in love.

"That's because I am," he said and smiled dreamily at her.

Minato took off his reading glasses and gave his son an interested look. He knew they were both ears. "Well?" he probed when Kyuubi did not say anything.

Kyuubi looked up at them and gave them his biggest grin. "Mom and dad, Itachi came back to me," he said.

They looked confused not really understanding the flow of the conversation. "And?" his mother asked in confusion.

"And there is no way I'm letting him go a second time," he vowed.

* * *

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke's heart thumped crazily in his chest when he observed the look his parents sent Itachi. The good part was they weren't angry but the sad part was they didn't look happy either. They just sat there shocked and speechless as they listened to Itachi talk about dating Kyuubi. As a matter of fact, he too was shocked at the sudden _development _of things between his brother and Kyuu-nii. Never had he imagined that Itachi would come around so quickly.

"What are you saying?" his mother asked finally finding her voice.

"What I'm saying is that, Mother I intend to date Kurama," Itachi said painstakingly slowly as if he was explaining something to a kid who was potentially slow.

"But Kurama is a man!" his mother reasoned looking at Fugaku for understanding. Fugaku for his part just stared ahead with a poker face not knowing what to say.

"Yes and the only person I've been in love with for seventeen years, Mother." Itachi looked at Sasuke for help and Sasuke shot him a helpless look unable to come up with anything that could support his brother.

"Does that mean you're a…a…_homosexual?_" Understanding finally dawned and both parents turned to stare at Itachi aghast.

Itachi took a deep breath. This was the most difficult part. "No Mother I'm not," he said and then closed his eyes and forged ahead, "but I love Kurama. I have never been attracted to any other man except for him."

Sasuke sighed. "It happens, Mother," he said trying to make his parents understand. In return, he just got a shocked look from his mother.

Fugaku chose this moment to speak. "Does Kurama love you?" he asked turning and looking sharply at his elder son.

"_What are you asking Fugaku?" _Mikoto shrieked indignantly at her husband. He quelled all of Mikoto's arguments with a single look.

Itachi stared right back and Sasuke's heart filled with newfound admiration for his brother. Never had Itachi seemed to sure about anything in his life. "Yes he does."

"In that case," Fugaku said standing up and moving towards the refrigerator, "tell him to come over." He took out a bottle of water and drank from it.

"He and I are going to have a talk," he paused and glanced sternly at his eldest son, "over drinks." With that, he placed the bottle back in the refrigerator and walked away towards the direction of his bedroom Mikoto following after him demanding an explanation for what had just transpired.

Sasuke smirked at Itachi. The battle was half-won.

* * *

_**Uzumaki Household**_

Naruto woke up with the worst hangover imaginable. He clutched his head and raced to the washroom to throw up. He was never going drinking with Sakura again. That woman could drink an entire bar dry and stay straight on her six-inch high heeled shoes and take pictures of him while he went around goofing around and making an ass out of himself.

He groaned when he thought about what Sasuke was going to say about this.

Of what he remembered of last night was snippets and the part after which he passed out in the bar was a complete blank to him. He grimaced when he recalled the way he had been dancing around and shamelessly flirting with everyone. Suddenly he was glad for the no meeting rule because if it weren't for that, he would have been in Sasuke's house and the look on Sasuke's face would not have been very pleasant.

He grinned at his genius and cringed when his head throbbed with pain. Somehow he managed to brush his teeth and wash his face before moving downstairs for breakfast.

He hadn't really expected himself to walk down and find a Kyuubi grinning like there was no tomorrow while his parents just stared at him in shock.

"What's up?" he asked taking a seat at the table and demanding an explanation.

"Naruto, I'm dating Itachi!" Kyuubi said and a moment later jumped up and hugged Naruto who just stared in shocked stupor.

"But you hated him!" Naruto spoke when he recalled his wits and looked at his elder brother confused.

His parents' frown just widened when they heard what Naruto was talking about.

Kyuubi nodded in explanation. "Yes and till yesterday I did want to sock him in the jaw if I saw him again but then I saw him yesterday Naruto," he looked at his kid brother as if expecting him to understand. When Naruto just shot him a blank look, he sighed and said, "He wanted me as much as I wanted him."

At that Minato cleared his throat finally finding his voice. "That's…um…good I guess?" he said raising his eyebrows at his wife who still seemed like she needed more time to recuperate.

He looked up at his sons and Kyuubi's heart eased up in his chest when he smiled. "That's great news Kyuubi, we're very happy for you."

Kyuubi leaned down and hugged Minato. "Thanks Dad," he said grinning goofily at is younger brother who gave him the thumbs up.

"Tell Itachi to come home," Kushina said suddenly and all eyes turned to her in surprise. She gave them all a look that said 'duh' and stared at them. "Well he has to formally introduce himself!" she explained throwing out her arms in exasperation.

They all agreed and Kyuubi's phone chose that moment to vibrate violently against the table. He picked it up quickly his smile turning into a frown with every word he read. "Fuck," he muttered and Kushina hissed in anger. He looked at his family who stared back at him curiously. "Itachi's father wants to meet me," he said and then as an afterthought added, "over drinks."

Naruto gasped loudly. He did not know Uchiha Fugaku all that well but from what he knew, one thing was for sure.

Kyuubi was fucked.

* * *

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke stared guiltily at his phone where Naruto's good morning message was still open with hearts and smiles and apologies and happiness for their brothers all wrapped up in one. He bit his lip and last night just kept resurfacing in his head.

_Technically you know it wasn't a meeting,_ the rational voice in his head spoke up.

He knew it, he fucking _knew _it goddammit but his heart just wouldn't sit quietly. He knew he shouldn't have run like that. But damn his heart! First it told him to run and now it was making him feel guilty. He stoned himself for the inevitable and decided to reply to Naruto's message. He was pretty sure that the worst that could happen was Naruto finding out about the previous night and sure he would be mad but hey Sasuke had a reason to come for him!

He typed a plain good morning, expressed his surprise at his brother's relationship and hit send. The reply hit him as a complete bouncer.

_You know I've been thinking you know _seriously _thinking about something. Do you think it's time we tell our families about us? Of course we won't do it if you're not ready and the more I think about this the crazier it seems but don't you think we should give it a chance?_

Sasuke wanted to. He really did. But the fact that this was a crazy ordeal sat at the back of his mind. To add to that, his parents had just received a big shock and he didn't think they were ready for the other one. But then again, the faster they knew the better it would be for both of them because then they wouldn't really have to hold back and live with the façade of being best friends.

He bit his lip in consideration and thought about it long and hard before sending his reply. He knew being diplomatic about the issue wasn't going to solve anything so he decided to just say what he felt was right.

_Naruto I know you want to tell them as soon as possible. Heck I want them to know too! But my parents have just heard about Itachi and Kyuubi so they do need time to prepare themselves for us. As it is with both our elder brothers being gay and in a relationship they are kind of backing on us and suddenly if we too were to tip the tables on them, how do you think they're going to react?_

He knew this would hurt Naruto's feelings but he really wanted his parents to get some time before Sasuke and Naruto would break the news to them. He knew it wasn't going to be easy either ways but right now he really couldn't bring himself to tell them.

Naruto's reply did not come making Sasuke more anxious by the second. _Is he mad at me? I know he has done his set of thinking and he is not one to make a decision like this so rashly. But then again, what if he thinks I'm being a coward and backing out? What if he thinks I'm not serious? What if he thinks I want to breakup? I want to assure him! This would have been a million times easier if he was here right in front of me! Fighting, screaming, rationalizing, hell I would have done _anything _to make him understand!_

When he finally thought he was going to give caution to the winds and just run to Naruto's house to explain his mindset, his phone let out a timid beep and he literally pounced on it to check his message.

_I think you're right. We do need to give them more time, however, unlike "our foolish elder brothers", how about we drop hints? Of course we don't have to do that now but say next time we come home or maybe while we are there in Suna itself? I trust you and your judgment on this teme. You wouldn't have said anything without thinking it through. Now that I think about it, it was really silly of me to suggest this. I love you teme._

Sasuke read the message over and over till the words were so blurred they were literally blending into each other. He blinked and was surprised to find tears running down his face. The message wasn't romantic per se but he couldn't help but thank his stars for a man as understanding as Naruto.

At a loss for words he typed, _'Thank you and I love you too.' _And hit send.

And love he did, so much so that right now he wanted nothing more than to just go and hold that man in his arms and rejoice till his throat was dry and he was incapable of thought.

* * *

_**Senjuu Izakaya**_

Uzumaki Kurama sat stiffly with his legs drawn together and folded neatly and his hands placed on his thighs. He wore his formal business suit with his hair tied neatly, all his piercings still intact. Naruto had coxed him into removing them but he was adamant about wearing them stating that if Itachi's parents were to accept him, they would have to do that with his piercings. Naruto had just rolled his eyes heavenward and walked away. Sitting there, sweating buckets Kyuubi kind of regretted that decision.

Across from him sat Uchiha Fugaku wearing a traditional deep green kimono with the Uchiha emblem at the back, scrutinizing him silently. The silence was deafening. Kyuubi squelched the urge to fold and unfold his hands or to clear his throat just to do something. Fugaku's gaze was unnerving and though he had his eyes downcast in the manner of respect, he could feel the elder Uchiha's eyes boring into him as if trying to make holes in his skin.

He shuddered internally at the thought and decided to concentrate on something else. His mind went back to Itachi and the text he had received announcing his demise and the nervousness that had followed had washed away the happiness that came with winning Itachi back. As far as he knew, this was the biggest and the most difficult hurdle – wait Itachi's mother was a bigger hurdle. From his childhood years with Itachi he had learned that Mikoto was any day closer to Itachi than she was to Sasuke. True she was a mother and she was as unbiased as she could get but he knew fairly well that she favored Itachi to Sasuke. And so, he knew that Mikoto was going to go harder on him than Fugaku could. But with the way Fugaku was staring at him, he didn't think this one was going to be easy either.

"Raise your head," Fugaku's voice broke his train of thought and he looked up confused.

"Eh?" he said before he could stop himself and looked up stupidly blushing when he noticed the frown Fugaku wore between his brows and the way his mouth was turned down in displeasure. He apologized bowing his head again and he heard Fugaku sigh before telling him to raise his head again.

He watched Fugaku pick up the kettle containing hot sake and bring it closer to the tiny china cup on Kyuubi's side. Instantly recalling his manners, Kyuubi picked up the cup and bowed before Fugaku filled it for him. When he was done, Fugaku placed the kettle gently back on the table and turning sideways Kyuubi gulped down the sake too nervous to notice anything.

Once he was done, he picked up the kettle and poured sake for Fugaku who drank it down quickly and then hissed when the hot sake hit the back of his throat.

"What do you do for a living?" Fugaku asked pouring Kyuubi his second cup.

Kyuubi bowed and mumbled a yes as an acknowledgement of the question. He gulped down the hot liquid and winced internally when the strong sake burned his insides. He wasn't really a fan of alcohol especially sake. To add to that, they were having hot sake in summers! Tears filled his eyes and he quickly blinked them back refusing to let Fugaku see how quickly sake could affect him.

"I'm the Production and Design Head for this cellular company, sir." He said taking the kettle from Fugaku and pouring him a cup. Fugaku drank it like water and looked at Kyuubi as if assessing his worth. He picked up his chopsticks and picked up a piece of fish and ate it chewing slowly reminding Kyuubi very much about the values and traditions the Uchiha mentality tended to emphasize on.

Fugaku bristled after a second as if just realizing what Kyuubi had just said. "A cellular company?" he asked making it sound as if it was the most derogatory thing imaginable. Then again, in his eyes Kyuubi could have been unemployed for all he cared. As it was, Kyuubi knew Fugaku as someone who wouldn't give two cents about something as _mundane _as the cellular company.

"Yes sir," Kyuubi said trying to keep his pride intact. He loved his job. It was very rare for people to work for something they loved and believed in. He had in fact been lucky when he got a chance to work for the company he wanted to work for.

"So what do you do?" Fugaku asked seemingly confused as if he couldn't figure out what it was that Kyuubi did to earn a living.

"I make mobile phones, sir." Kyuubi replied keeping it down to the basics avoiding any technical terminology that could put Fugaku against him some more.

"Your workplace would be…" Fugaku asked folding his arms and sliding his hands inside the sleeves of his kimono.

"Behind the Hokage Monument in Konoha sir," Kyuubi answered.

"And how much do you make a month?" Fugaku asked with interest.

"A little less than three million per month sir," Kyuubi answered.

"How much do you think Itachi earns?" Fugaku asked.

Kyuubi bristled. He knew the fancy money Itachi made. "About ten million per month?" he guessed and bristled some more when Fugaku nodded with something akin to glee.

Kyuubi looked down and stifled the urge to sigh. The evening was going downhill and he hated every passing second.

Fugaku laughed. A short, abrupt sound that did not quite suit the man and Kyuubi looked at him confused. But when he picked up the sake cup, he dutifully picked up the kettle and poured him some. Fugaku downed the tiny cup and took a piece of dried fish and ate it.

"Very well," he said placing his hands on his thighs and regarding Kyuubi with another piercing gaze. "Uzumaki-kun, I can overlook your gender," he said and Kyuubi's heart skipped a beat in anticipation. "I can even overlook your rather _uncouth _appearance and even acknowledge the fact that my son and you have had _feelings _for each other for all these years, but what I can't see is how after properly bidding farewell to each other you two would still want to be together?"

Kyuubi cleared his throat. This was the tricky question, the one that would make or break his relationship with Itachi. He took a moment to collect his thoughts thinking about the best possible way to phrase it so that both his and Itachi's feelings could be encompassed and understood by the elderly Uchiha. Many fancy words came to mind, many poems told time and again of love immemorial, of gardens, nature, beauty, the heart, longing, you name it. But there was none that could do justice to the feelings that he had for Itachi and the feelings Itachi had for him.

At the end, he decided to go in for the kill.

"The love was always there sir. It was there when he ran away to Otogakure and even when he came home to Konoha. Honestly, I thought he had given up on me when he went to Otogakure. I thought it was the end. But sir, seventeen years later all it took was one look. The look that said everything I wanted to hear. And that was enough." Kyuubi paused thankful for the blank expression that Fugaku wore. "I know we can only be happy if we are with other, so sir, please give me Itachi. I promise to take full responsibility for him." At that, Kyuubi bowed completely for permission his resolution set in steel.

"Raise your head," Fugaku's voice boomed and even though the panic had escalated to borderline dangerous levels, he raised his head. The look the old man wore could not e described. Fugaku's stare was blank and Kyuubi's heart skipped another beat. "Do you know why I agreed to see you today Kurama-kun?"

Hope rose in Kyuubi's chest when Fugaku used his given name. "Because Itachi told you about me?" he guessed and Fugaku just shook his head in denial.

"That could have been on the reasons but that wasn't why." He took a deep breath to say something and Kyuubi had a feeling that whatever it is, it was important to the old man. "It was because of the look in Itachi's eyes," he said and Kyuubi swallowed. "You see Itachi has always been someone who never relied on anyone. He grew up with the aim of excelling at everything he did, a mistake on my part I'd say but nevertheless, his goal in life from the time he grew up till today has been to show us, Sasuke, everyone who he knew how good he could be. In other words, Itachi has always lived for others. And then today he came and talked to us about you. And he had this look in his eyes, this scared, sad glint like a child asking for something for the first time. A look that spoke volumes about how he wasn't sure if it was alright to ask, to request something from us; but there was a conviction in those eyes, a resolution that said he wanted something and Kurama-kun, he wanted you." He took another deep breath, "My son wanted something from me for the first time in his life and he wanted you Kurama-kun."

Kyuubi could not say anything. He knew one part of Itachi really well having seen it his fair share of times during their friendship and then their relationship. The part of Itachi that was giving without expecting a return, the part of Itachi that could cross any line for his family and everything that man could sacrifice to protect it. But a side of Itachi that made a request was new to him. Itachi did not request. He ordered or took it by force if required. This humbled, unsure version of Itachi was something disturbing and it caused an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach while his heart beat madly in his chest.

He just stared at Fugaku who now wore a smile on his face.

"There has to be something in you Kurama-kun for my son to let go of his dignity and ask," Fugaku murmured slowly and the look in Fugaku's eyes squeezed Kyuubi's heart. "I want to know what that is." He demanded and looked at Kyuubi.

Kyuubi swallowed and then smiled. "I have absolutely no idea what that is Sir, but if Itachi sees it, it must be there," he murmured confidence returning.

Fugaku lifted his cup and Kyuubi leaned forward to pour it for him. Fugaku gulped it down and offered the cup to Kyuubi who took it bowing slightly. He winced internally when he thought about the prospect of drinking another gulp of the hot sake and Fugaku's small chuckle took him completely by surprise. "You don't like hot sake much, do you?" Fugaku asked his tone turning conversational and Kyuubi sat mute for a second contemplating the answer.

Finally he looked Fugaku right in the eye and said, "Can't stand it, Sir." He was surprised at the warm laughter that bubbled from Fugaku's throat.

"Me either. Ring the bell and ask the woman to get you a drink of your choice," he said.

Kyuubi rang the bell and when the kimono clad woman walked in; he looked at Fugaku, smiled one of his own special smiles and said, "I'd like a bottle of whisky please. The best one you've got." She bowed murmuring her confirmation and almost gasped in surprise when she heard the elderly Uchiha laugh. Hurriedly she bowed again and left the room.

"Whisky eh," Fugaku asked raising an eyebrow and looking at Kyuubi. "I'm beginning to really like you Kurama-kun. Now why don't you sit nicely so that we have a nice chat?" he asked.

Kyuubi grinned foxily and sat down Indian style. Now that the biggest hurdle was defeated, he just wanted to sit back and let the good times begin.

* * *

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke watched his brother with amusement as his brother paced along the length of the room with his bottom lip between his teeth. Honestly looking at Itachi behaving in such an uncanny fashion was new to him and he was dying to say something but knowing his brother, he chose to remain silent.

"It's been three hours already!" Itachi finally bit out in what Sasuke could only interpret as worry and exasperation. "What could be taking them so long?" he looked down at Sasuke and when the younger brother opened his mouth he just waved his hand in dismissal. "Don't answer that," he said taking yet another round of the room.

"Sit down brother," Sasuke finally said. "This will take time."

Itachi shot his brother a sarcastic glare making Sasuke shrug in a 'duh' manner. He finally huffed and sat down on the bed beside Sasuke.

"You know, what you did today was very courageous," Sasuke said with a hint of admiration in his tone and Itachi turned to look at his brother sharply.

"You think so?" Itachi asked and Sasuke nodded offering his brother a genuine smile.

"Yeah," he said. "It takes a lot of guts to just come out with it and tell them." He looked at his brother and watched a small smile appear on the face that was still shrouded with worry.

"Foolish little brother," Itachi said and flicked his brother on the forehead. He laughed when Sasuke's face contorted into a pained frown and he rubbed his forehead where Itachi had hit him.

"That hurt Itachi!" Sasuke said frowning in displeasure as he continued to rub his forehead.

"I know it did," Itachi said laughing and ducking when Sasuke reached out to hit him. He straightened his posture and clasped his hands together. "All I did was following my heart," he said softly bringing them back to their earlier discussion.

Sasuke nodded. He understood what Itachi was getting at. "I know," he murmured softly, "I've been doing that too."

"So," Itachi spoke conversationally as he regarded Sasuke with a look. "When do you and Naruto intend to tell Mom and Dad?" he asked.

Sasuke sighed. Honestly he had no clue. Naruto wanted to tell them and although he did too, the fact that two shocks in one week wouldn't sit well with his parents. "I don't know," he finally managed to voice out.

Itachi nodded. When his brother intended to reveal about his relationship was none of his business but he knew the sooner they got this over with, the better it would be for them. He reached out and flicked Sasuke again. "Foolish little brother," he said again and Sasuke bared his teeth in warning rubbing the same spot where Itachi hit him. "Just believe in your love and things will happen the way they are supposed to happen!"

"Look who's talking!" Sasuke mocked eyes narrowing as he looked at his brother. "Just who was walking around the room like a caged animal waiting to hear the news?" he asked accusingly.

Itachi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "This is a nightmare!" he said and a second later he groaned. "What the hell can those two be doing now?" he looked helplessly at his younger brother who just shrugged and grinned cheekily at his brother.

"There's nothing you can do now, is there?" he asked rhetorically.

Itachi just shot him a dirty look standing up from the bed and resuming his pacing.

"Would you like to play some video game?" he asked and raised his eyebrows when Itachi shot him an incredulous look.

"What? I was just trying to help you alleviate the tension!" he said grabbing a cushion and throwing it at Itachi.

Itachi caught the pillow on reflex and threw it back at Sasuke. He thought about it for a moment and said, "Tekken."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stood up from the bed throwing the cushion at Itachi again. "Fine but if I win you have to give me your Call of Duty collection."

Itachi smirked throwing the cushion on the bed and grabbing his brother in a headlock. "Dream on foolish little brother, dream on."

The call came two hours later. Itachi jumped as if he had been burned. He grabbed the device seeing Kyuubi's name flashing on the screen and made a run to the terrace for privacy. Once he was away and sure that there was no one eavesdropping, he picked up his phone and swiftly murmured, "Since you're still alive I am to assume it went well."

Kyuubi chuckled on the other side. "Well yes, if you should put it that way." There was a slow sigh and then, "So did you miss me?"

Itachi smiled glad for the fact that he was all alone with no intrusive pairs of eyes and ears around. "Not particularly," he said and his smile broadened when Kyuubi laughed.

"It was a nightmare Itachi," Kyuubi said and Itachi heard the slow sigh that escaped Kyuubi's lips.

"Hn," Itachi muttered lowly, "never said it'd be easy."

Kyuubi laughed again, a warm sound that Itachi would never admit out loud but warmed his insides. Damn, he had missed this. "I've missed you Itachi. Hell I don't even know how I survived for so long." He cleared his throat on the line probably waiting for Itachi to say something but Itachi remained silent reveling in the slow steady breathing on the other line. He laughed suddenly realizing something. "So does this give me the right to call you '_boyfriend_' now?"

Itachi scowled. "Don't even think about it," he warned his voice low and dangerous.

Kyuubi burst out into loud guffaws. "Ah well, I worked for that right _boyfriend_, there's no way I'm passing it up."

Itachi growled on the phone. "Kurama quit it," he said.

"Oh but this is so much of fun, _boyfriend_," he said laying emphasis on the word. "I would love to see your facial expression right now boy-" the line went dead.

"Ah well," Kyuubi laughed pocketing the device and pushing it in his blazer pocket.

He laughed again before doing a victory dance. It was totally worth it.

* * *

_**Day 6**_

_**Uzumaki Apartment**_

Naruto got ready to meet his friends to go to the arcade. He rolled his eyes listening to his mother go into a diatribe about how little time he had with them and he spent most of it with his friends while she went about his room picking up his laundry. He settled his sleeveless light jacket and picked up a wristband from his dressing table snapping it on. He smiled goofily at his mother who just came and stood behind him and watched him fuss with a couple of golden strands trying to set them in order.

"Naruto," she said in a condescending tone swiping his hand away and trying the best that she could with one hand to tame the golden strands. She leaned in after a second and regarded Naruto with an incredulous look then she sniffed him. "Is that _cologne_?"

Naruto turned away from the mirror and looked at his mother, rolling his eyes when he saw the storm brewing in those violet depths. "Oh c'mon Mom I'm big enough to wear cologne now!" he said and watched the way her eyes softened and a moment later there was sheen of tears clouding her eyes. He pulled her to him and hugged her tight. "Aw, don't get all sad and sappy on me please," he said and chuckled when his mother thumped him on his chest.

"You're so grown up now," she said complaining and smiling nevertheless. She pulled away and cupped one of Naruto's cheeks, "and so much like Minato," she said and Naruto smiled.

"That handsome, eh?" he asked holding his jaw and posing for her making her blush and smack him lightly on the shoulder.

"Now hurry up and get ready before your friends get here," she said turning to walk away and then she turned around as if remembering something, "oh which reminds me, is Sasuke coming?"

Naruto put down the brush he was holding and turned around his brow clouding. His heart skipped a beat and the pang he felt when he thought about meeting Sasuke only intensified. Five days and he hadn't seen a lock of hair of his lover. He was really beginning to regret this stupid promise of not meeting his lover. The wet dream he had had just that morning wasn't helping matters much. Wasn't there a way he could just meet Sasuke…?

"No," he said and watched his mother nod lost in thought.

"It's strange though," she murmured slowly picking up a discarded black shirt from the floor and adding it to the laundry she was supposed to be doing. "He hasn't been hanging around with you this week but that day when you went and got drunk he was here to drop you." She looked at him and as if suddenly realizing where she was she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand staring guiltily at Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened comically. "What?" he stared at her guilty face and stepped forward. "Mom what did you just say?" he asked disbelief painted all over his face.

Kushina seemed to look a little peevish as if she had broken a promise. She stared guiltily at the tatami mat on the floor and then looked at Naruto. "Well Sasuke came to drop you home the day you went out drinking with Sakura," she said.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair fighting the hurt that rose. Sasuke broke the promise. He fucking _broke _it and did not even _tell _him about it. He looked up only to find his mother looking at him strangely. "What is wrong with your face?" she asked concern clouding her tone as she placed a hand on his shoulder and peered up to look at him. "It's just Sasuke Naruto. What's the big deal?" she said sounding incredulous and Naruto realized that of course it wouldn't make any sense to her because she didn't know anything.

He fought to keep his composure thinking that his mother would obviously find it weird if were to react in such a manner. He blinked quickly and forced a smile on his face. "Nah nothing Ma," he said shrugging off her hand as politely as he could and went back to the dresser, fidgeting around with a couple of things only because he needed something to do with his hands. He turned around when he found his mother still looking at him with worry. He forced another cheery grin and said, "Just mad that he didn't say anything about it," he said and then faking an angry glare at her he said, "And mad at you too for not telling me."

Kushina furrowed her brow at him and looked a little confused. "He asked me not to tell you because he said he wanted to surprise you. So I thought maybe you already knew," she trailed off a little awkwardly and then when Naruto stayed quiet she shrugged her shoulders mumbling something under her breath which sounded vaguely like 'kids these days' as she went about the room picking up a lone sock from the foot of Naruto's bed along the way.

Once she was out of his room, he huffed angrily and sat down on the foot of his bed thinking wildly. His heart tried to come up with a million plausible excuses but his mind overrode them with the simple knowledge that the situation that day was not so serious that Sasuke had to come to the scene. And if Sakura _had _called him then he should have remembered his words and made some wild excuse so as to avoid seeing him. Then again, technically that wasn't a meeting. If he were to be really honest, it was a _pick-up_. Also, if positions had been reversed and had it been Sasuke who was drunk and Naruto who received the call, wouldn't he have gone?

_One against two…_

The answer came to him naturally and along with the begrudging anger came the reluctant admiration at the way Sasuke showed his love. He really was one lucky bastard to have someone like Sasuke. And the tiny regret that bloomed when he realized that even though Sasuke did get to see him, he couldn't see his lover made him want to get even.

An evil grin spread across his face as he picked up his phone and quickly typed a message.

_Heard something that will knock your socks off Teme…_

Throwing the phone on the bed, he proceeded to get dressed with a smile on the corner of his lips. He finished adding the last minute touches to his hair and smelled himself smiling slightly at the fragrance he wore. Once he was completely satisfied with his appearance he went about picking up his keys, wallet and his phone and that's when the doorbell went off along with his mother's scream from down the stairs of "Naruto your friends are here."

He checked his phone frowning when there was no message from the boyfriend. Nevertheless he pocked the device and strode downstairs to watch Kiba grinning wildly at him with Neji, Sai, Shikamaru and Gaara waiting for him.

"Yo guys," he said giving them a one-handed salute, "let's go," he said pumping the same hand in the air and striding out of the house while his mother scolded him about not announcing his departure.

He could only roll his eyes while Kiba snickered and thumped him on the back.

* * *

_**Café Amaterasu**_

Sasuke was sipping a cup of his favorite decaf and was just about to pick up his favorite cheese and tomato sandwich when his phone let out a small beep. Oblivious to everything and totally engrossed in the sandwiches he loved so much, he took a leisurely bite of his sandwich relishing the taste his eyes shut to half mast before he saw the tiny notification light pulsing and he carefully set down his sandwich, wiped his hands on the tissue before picking up his phone.

He read the message over and over again and a heavy frown settled between his brows. He was curious, yes but more than that there was this ominous feeling in his chest which he couldn't really justify. Finally he thought of a reply and typed it fast.

_Let's hear it._

He sent it in a flash, closed his phone and went back to his beloved sandwich and coffee. But this time the happiness and joy of the meal he had secretly been craving since his time in Suna was interrupted given how his mind tried to rationalize the feeling growing in his chest. This time when his phone beeped, he put the sandwich down rather than taking a bite and picked it up unlocking it hastily and reading the message his heart hammering madly with each word.

_I got to know somebody came to drop me off the day I went drinking with Sakura and ended up getting wasted._

That came as a complete shock.

He cursed under his breath silently. He knew that the moment he stepped into the entrance of Naruto's house and his eyes met violet eyes, he was screwed. The only thing he could actually think of was Kushina telling Naruto about him dropping the stupid drunk man off and he would do anything to keep that a secret. His plan after dropping Sakura had been perfect but the only mistake had been _assuming _that all the members of the Uzumaki household would have been asleep by then and he would use Naruto's key to get in and drop him off. But he forgot one major point: Uzumaki Kushina. Kushina was a light sleeper with a sense of hearing that could put a bat to shame; there was no way Sasuke could have done this job without her waking up.

His only escape was the petty excuse of a surprise and even though Kushina hadn't looked extremely convinced about the plan and seemed a little confused about the entire ordeal, Sasuke had put on his best 'impress-the-mother' grin and reluctantly she had nodded before showing him the way to Naruto's room.

And now Naruto was being vague about it which was a complete disadvantage to Sasuke because he did not have a clue in the world whether Naruto was mad at him or not. He thought about this for a couple of minutes and then finally decided to play dumb.

_Uh-huh? Is there someone who can lift your heavy ass up a flight of stairs?_

He grimaced after hitting send and wished he could do something to alleviate the situation and get Naruto to forgive him but suddenly his brain had gone ape-shit on him, ditching him when he needed it the most. What Naruto replied now was extremely crucial to him and a major part of him was dreading the answer.

_Funny how you know my room has been shifted upstairs when I did not breathe a word about it to anyone._

Sasuke cursed again and curled his hand into a fist. _Of course _he had been shocked when Kushina pointed upstairs and told him it was the second door to his right. As far as he could remember, Naruto's room had been downstairs right next to the store room and it already served as an advantage for them given how they could sometimes hide their in the store room and make out.

_Stupid, stupid brain!_

He couldn't be flippant about it and insult Naruto's brain like every other time because he knew that Naruto knew and Naruto being the insane _dick _he was, he was just doing this to piss Sasuke off.

_Hn, so who was it dobe?_

He did it. He set his cards on the table and now waited patiently for Naruto to reply.

_Meet me and I'll tell you._

Sasuke choked on his coffee so bad that tears ran down his cheeks as he stuffed a tissue under his nose to soak up the coffee which decided to come out the wrong way. His eyes watered terribly and his throat clamped up completely cutting off his air supply. He coughed violently and tried to breathe through his mouth wishing Naruto was there to thump his back and make it better. When a waitress came over to help him he put up a hand and she stepped back as if she had been burnt. No matter what the situation, letting someone else touch him was still out of the question.

He was still struggling with his chest and beating it softly for everything to go down _literally _and_ figuratively_ and finally when the hacking cough subsided a bit and he was able to breathe again, he stared at his phone.

_Oh no, he didn't! Did he just…? Does this mean he wants to…? Is he willing to…? Is this some trick question?_

Sasuke's brain ran a mile a minute. He didn't know what to say. What answer was Naruto seeking? What if he didn't get that right? Heck they had been friends for as long as Sasuke could remember and in a relationship for more than ten years! He knew Naruto better than he knew his own fucking self! Then why…how…_how _could he not understand what to do here? How could he not know the answer Naruto wanted from him? It couldn't be! It just couldn't be! His eyes had to be playing tricks on him.

He cleared his throat finally when he could breathe and shot the other customers of the café who were still glancing his way his best poker face. Then he picked up his phone and typed just one word that could express everything related to his inner turmoil.

_Huh?_

He dropped a crisp bill on the table and walked out of the café, his coffee and sandwich unfinished and forgotten.

Once outside he dialed the only number he could think of and huffed in annoyance irritated and perplexed at the fate that awaited him.

* * *

_**Gai Arcade**_

Naruto grinned sheepishly when Gaara came and stood behind him and watched with an irritated expression as Naruto barked out a laugh as he stared at his phone. A second later, Naruto pressed the power button and before Gaara could read what the husband – um – Sasuke had written the screen turned black.

Naruto pocked the device and looked at Gaara with a raised brow. "Peeping into other people's phone is a bad habit – wasn't it you who taught me that?"

Gaara refused to look guilty fighting it down when those blue eyes landed on him. Honestly, Naruto should have taken up teaching in his own opinion. Those blue eyes could coax guilt out of a vile serpent and he was but a human.

"Ever since we've come here, you've barely interacted with us," Gaara did not mean to sound accusing and cross but when those blue eyes stared at him like that, he was given no choice but to be honest about everything. Behind him he could see Kiba and Neji engaged in a game but they didn't really look too pleased about it while Sai was racing or at least _trying _to race against Shikamaru who wasn't even trying.

Naruto sighed and ran a hand across his hair. He looked up at Gaara sheepishly and his phone chose that moment to ring.

He frowned and pulled the phone out of his jeans pocket and stared at the name his frown widening. Then he looked at Gaara and said, "I must take this call," and stepped away from the gaming area towards the wending machines to pick up the phone.

He wasn't expecting this. True all he had been doing since morning _was _goading Sasuke but a call wasn't on the charts. But because Sasuke had broken the rule, Naruto had the right to scare him like that. He picked up after two more rings.

"Long time," he said trying to sound all cool and flippant but he was pretty sure Sasuke must have detected the tinge of longing in his tone.

He grinned when he heard the huffed breathing on the other end. Oh he'd done it. Uchiha Sasuke was mad at him.

"I don't want to meet you," Sasuke said and the grin faded from Naruto's face. Okay so maybe he went a little overboard but hey it wasn't him who broke the promise in the first place! Sasuke sighed, cursed silently under his breath at the way that came out and said, "Not now, not under these circumstances. Not when our promise is still there," he said and Naruto could sense the underlying resentment to that.

Naruto sighed. "Well you certainly didn't have any problem forgetting the promise when you came home to drop me off that night when I went out drinking with Sakura."

Sasuke cursed loudly this time, loud enough for Naruto to hiss in annoyance. "I came because that night was an _emergency_," he said each word loud and clear. "Now there is none and I don't feel the need to break this promise when I can avoid it."

"So does that mean you're really not coming to meet me?" Naruto asked biting his lip. Originally he had typed the message on a whim but now hearing Sasuke's voice and knowing the dark haired man was _right there _in the same place as him and yet so far away, the urge to meet his lover was killing him.

"No Naruto, I'm not. We made a promise and I intend to honor it." Sasuke's words hurt like hell. They hurt as if Sasuke had thrust a hand in his chest and twisted his heart.

Naruto took a sharp intake of breath and finally decided to say what was on his mind. "What if I want you to? He demanded.

"Still a no," Sasuke replied calmly.

Naruto knew Sasuke all too well to know the right buttons. So he prodded some more, "What if I tell you that I maybe the stupidest person on the planet for coming up with such a scheme but you are even more stupid for following it! Okay, Nevermind. I'm hanging up before I make this even worse and talk about how much I want to have sex with you right now because I ache for you so bad Sasuke that I wish I'd never asked us to come back home and instead gone to that ridiculously expensive place like you wanted us to and made hot, wild love day and night till neither of us could move and then again because knowing us we just get enough of ourselves! Like how I want you to just bend me over and –"

"Where are you?" Sasuke's voice was hoarse like he was really trying hard to control himself. Naruto smirked running his tongue across his teeth. He was horny and who wouldn't be? He squelched the urge to settle his pants where his erection strained against his boxers and rubbed against the fly of his jeans.

One week! The promise was just for _a week_! _One fucking week_! _Seven days_! _And he couldn't even hold back for a second now_!

"It's a new gaming parlor," he said moving towards the front of the gaming center thinking of meeting Sasuke right there. "It's called Gai Arcade or something like-" he never got to finish his sentence because just as he was idly scuffing the toe of his sneaker on the ground looking at his left, his right hand which was not holding his cell phone was yanked rather harshly and he looked in shock to see Uchiha Sasuke marching in quick strides with a determined look on his face and eyes that were smoldering in their want.

Those dark eyes pierced Naruto's with a passion that almost sent Naruto to his knees with want.

Christ! He'd missed this look, that sure grip on his hand, that determined look on that beautiful pale face, the perfection of those shoulders clad in that soft blue shirt. Scratch that! Scratch everything! He had missed Uchiha Sasuke.

And currently the Uchiha Sasuke who was literally dragging him along wasn't just a hot bundle of need and want. He was also seething with fury and Naruto winced when those eyes looked at him sharply as if warning him against opening his mouth and uttering a word.

But then again, this was Uzumaki Naruto who was the receiver of the warning. Had it been anyone else, they would have looked down quietly, thanked their stars that Sasuke was not harming them and continued being dragged along till Sasuke cooled off a bit.

"Sasuke," Naruto called out to his hoarsely his own grip tight in Sasuke's hand feeling and cherishing the warmth of that palm. But Sasuke was holding too tightly, so much so that it was almost cutting off Naruto's blood supply and his hand was beginning to get numb. Also, he really needed to make amends now. And for that he needed conversation. "Your grip is too tight. Let go!" he said quietly trying to yank his hand away but Sasuke's grip just tightened.

No response.

"Sasuke dammit listen to people when they're talking to you! I can't feel my hand!" he said and almost shrunk in fear when Sasuke stopped and looked at him for a long moment and then looked around and continued walking.

Sasuke kept walking holding Naruto's hand like a lifeline and then suddenly they were taking a left to a small alley and suddenly Naruto was being backed against the cemented wall and staring into Sasuke's eyes.

"What the hell bastard!" he demanded in confusion and then Sasuke was kissing him his hand going to Naruto's head and probing at the spot where the bump was most likely to have been.

To any bystander the kiss would have been harsh and assaultive but Naruto knew it was only a mixture of desperation and want spiked with a tinge of anger that was causing Sasuke to nip at his lips, for his tongue to be so demanding in its exploration of Naruto's mouth. Sasuke was taking his fill, _replenishing _his needs as cheesy as that may have sounded.

Naruto was no less. He threw caution to the winds and grabbed Sasuke by the collar of his shirt and retaliated with equal fervor. Neither was fully aware of what transpired but when they drew away for air, Naruto's hand was boldly cupping Sasuke's erection through his pants while Sasuke's right hand was twirling Naruto's right nipple with his shirt bunched up.

"We need to go," Sasuke said after a long minute wherein he very reluctantly pulled out his hand from under Naruto's t-shirt. He shot Naruto a very desperate look as he brought his own hand down to his crotch and twined it with Naruto's who was still rubbing his erection through his pants and teasing him terribly. He pulled at the tan hand and curled his fingers with Naruto's.

"Okay but where?" Naruto asked his brain totally fuddled with the skin contact. Some part of it seemed surreal, almost bizarre like he couldn't believe Sasuke would do something like break a promise and meet him.

"A love hotel," Sasuke's voice booked no arguments not that Naruto could have made any given how his brain was almost _malfunctioning _with Sasuke being so close to him. And then once again Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and steered him in some other direction.

"Eh?" was all Naruto could mumble before Sasuke reached his car in the parking, unlocked it with a swish of his wrist with the fob and moved to the passenger side almost _dumping _Naruto inside as if he were a bag of rice. He moved quickly to his side, got in and smoothly started the engine which almost purred as the car started.

"You heard me, dobe" Sasuke said buckling up his seat belt and hitting the reverse to pull it out of the parking lot.

"Sasuke…" he began licking his lips with no particular thought in mind.

"Don't, just _don't _say a word." He shot Naruto a warning glare when Naruto's mouth opened and Naruto hastily closed it. He looked straight after buckling himself and they rode to what Naruto could assume to be the first hotel that came in sight.

The room was booked in haste with the quick slide of the credit card to and fro across the battered wooden table. Naruto was glad that the hotel manager looked old and weak and he peered at them as if he couldn't see properly. Lord knew the amount of explanation their presence here would have taken had the manager been an acquaintance of theirs or their parents'.

The climb up the stairs towards their room was made in silence. Naruto was strictly adhering to the rule of shutting his mouth lest he tick off Sasuke's temper in some other way. Sasuke it seemed was too lost in thought to actually say anything. Naruto's heart was thudding madly in his chest partly because of anticipation but majorly because of the unmasked joy of knowing Sasuke was walking behind him to their _hotel room._

Once they were there, Naruto slid the key in the hole surprised when his hands didn't appear to be shaking contradictory to the inner turmoil he was feeling. He twisted the key and the click of the door unlocking seemed extremely loud in the silence.

"Sasuke," he whispered twisting his head towards Sasuke but not exactly looking at him. He didn't have any particular thing he wanted to say but there was this unexplainable _need _to take his name.

Apparently that was the key to invoking a reaction from Sasuke because instantly Sasuke was on him, backing him into the open door, into the room with his mouth latched tightly on Naruto's. Naruto matched his need with equal fervor, his own tongue mapping out Sasuke's mouth and dipping into crevices making Sasuke moan and press deeper.

He worked on unbuttoning Sasuke's pants too impatient to work on the shirt, wanting him badly. He moaned when Sasuke cupped his ass boldly and brought it closer to his erection squeezing it possessively. Once he was done shedding Sasuke's pants, he stroked the familiar hardness of Sasuke's cock, flicking his thumb over the tip making Sasuke moan as pre-come leaked out and laughed when Sasuke bit his neck harshly with need. He worked his other hand up Sasuke's chest rubbing a nipple to complete hardness and then squeezing it to the point where he knew it would hurt.

"Sasuke," he started again watching lust filled black eyes gaze into his with an unfocused intensity. He put his hand on top of Sasuke's where it was squeezing Naruto's ass and pulled it away and placed it on the waistband of his jeans. It was a silent order to undo the dammed thing and get down to what he wanted, what he needed and craved. Sasuke seemed to get the message when his fingers curled oh-so-slowly and thumbed the button out of the hole and dragged his index down while unzipping Naruto's pants intentionally rubbing his cock through his boxers making Naruto hiss at the contact.

Sasuke watched with lowered lashes as Naruto's eyes closed at the friction and his nostrils flared while his cheekbones hollowed as he sucked in a shallow breath. Once he was done unzipping Naruto's pants, he moved to slide his fingers against the waistband of his pants and his boxers, pulling them down in one go till they bunched around his knees. His heart was beating too fast to be called normal and his patience wore really thin. He looked behind him to see how far away they were from the bed and when he realized that a step in the right direction and a push would suffice, he stepped back drawing completely away from Naruto who stared at him with confused eyes his golden eyebrows drawn in a frown but he did not say anything his curiosity at seeing that small mysterious smile on the corners of Sasuke's lips piqued intensely.

Sasuke smirked as he stepped back again and Naruto repeated the motion taking that one step Sasuke wanted him to. Sasuke slowly put his hands inside Naruto's jacket sliding it off his shoulders letting it fall on the ground. He bent and placed one kiss on the juncture where Naruto's neck met his shoulder while his hands slid from Naruto's shoulders to his nipples which were already hard. He panned out his right hand touching both nipples from his t-shirt with the tips of his thumb and little finger. His left hand went south and caught Naruto's cock in a firm grip stroking it roughly. Once…twice and then he rotated the tips of his fingers stimulating both nipples while the thumb of the left hand pressed down on the tip once before he removed his hand from Naruto's cock causing Naruto to sigh in pleasure. Then applying pressure to his fingertips Sasuke pushed him back.

Naruto fell on the bed with a surprised "Oh". He had been too busy drowning in the web of sensations to anticipate a fall. The moment his back landed on the bed, Sasuke was on him. They kissed again tongues wrapping around each other and pushing, probing, penetrating each other's mouth. Sasuke's hand moved down to the bunched jeans and proceeded to push them further till they were around Naruto's ankles. Naruto toed off his shoes hastily and took off his jeans and boxers with his feet. Once he was devoid of all the unnecessary clothes, he pushed Sasuke a little and adjusted himself under the dark haired man till their erections were aligned and rubbed harshly.

"You really must learn not to provoke me Naruto," Sasuke whispered as he pulled up Naruto's shirt and bit a nipple harshly. He dragged his teeth down still keeping the pressure leaving marks in his wake. Naruto let him because he knew Sasuke was angry.

"But you know you have the right to punish me," Naruto whispered seductively and instantly sharp black eyes were staring at him.

"And damn right I will!" Sasuke growled and unconsciously despite knowing Sasuke really well, Naruto prepared himself for pain but it turned out to be Sasuke's hands pushing his legs apart gently and then Sasuke leaning down till Naruto felt the first probe of the dark haired man's tongue against his entrance.

He sat up halfway but Sasuke's weight prevented him from sitting up. "What the –" he demanded as he looked down at Sasuke's head and gasped when Sasuke's tongue entered him gently and began rimming him. He lay back down heavily and a second later his bed began arching off the bed when Sasuke advanced further and then in one fell swoop had his tongue inside completely. Naruto knew this because he could feel the occasional jab of Sasuke's chin against his ass.

Sasuke took his time leisurely swiping his tongue around inside; putting his tongue in and out at such a slow pace that Naruto was practically writhing under him, his tanned hands on pale shoulders digging hard demanding more. He moaned Sasuke's name several times but Sasuke was unrelenting moving his hand, snaking it around Naruto's torso, squeezing his nipples and then coming down to flick the tip of Naruto's cock before moving down to very gently cup Naruto's balls and run a feather-light thumb across the sac.

"Sasuke," Naruto muttered urgently, his voice breathless with the intensity of the sensations he was feeling. His hands moved from Sasuke's shoulders to his head to grab silky midnight hair and he caught a fistful and yanked. Instantly Sasuke's tongue slid out from Naruto's ass and the tanned man was staring at a pair of pissed off midnight eyes. He licked his lips helplessly and those midnight eyes slipped downward, the magnitude in their depths changing to lust at the tiny peek of the pink of Naruto's tongue. "I can't wait," those lust-filled eyes snapped up to Naruto's and for the fraction of a second had a glazed look about them as if Naruto's words never registered. And then they snapped back to attention.

Naruto watched mesmerized as Sasuke stood up on shaky legs. Pale hands moved towards the leather of Sasuke's belt and Naruto sucked in a breath. He loved this moment where the only thing audible was the sound of their slightly labored breaths and the gentle hiss of the leather as it slid out from its denim confines. In the silence of the room, the pop of the button could be heard clearly and Naruto's heartbeat sped up when Sasuke worked on getting rid of his pants and boxers never taking his eyes off Naruto's.

At the touch of Sasuke's hand on his thigh, Naruto shuddered with anticipation. Sasuke pulled him closer and spread his legs, he looked down for a moment seemingly lost in thought and then he let go of Naruto's leg and looked at him. "Turn around. I want you on your knees and hands with your ass in the air."

The protest was on Naruto's lips even before he could process the words and Sasuke gave him a sharp look as if challenging him to defy. And defy Naruto did when he proceeded to lie on his back and spread his legs for Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes flickered down to Naruto's hard length straining against his stomach in need and then he leaned forward so fast that Naruto could only gasp when his left inner thigh was bit suddenly.

He came so hard and abruptly that his mind went blank. Sasuke smirked at the sight of Naruto with his back still arched in tension; those blue eyes rolled back, mouth opened with shock, tanned fingers twisted awkwardly in white sheets, his stomach stained with his own come. He waited for a minute till Naruto came to and his back relaxed against the bed; those blue eyes focused to their surroundings, mouth forming a small smile at the pleasure, tanned fingers untwisting themselves and moving to touch Sasuke's eyebrow. Then he swiped a finger across the come-stained stomach and licked it clean watching Naruto's eyes turn greedy.

"Want a taste of your own come, dobe?" he asked conversationally and smiled when Naruto's eyebrow furrowed.

"No but I want a taste of _your _come," he said raising his eyebrow challengingly and Sasuke's smirk only broadened as he aligned his cock with Naruto's ass and slid it in one firm thrust.

Naruto moaned while Sasuke hissed at the amazing friction of the way Naruto's ass clenched around him. "Ha-" Naruto's breath caught in his throat and he closed his eyes bracing himself for the inevitable pain. A part of him regretted goading Sasuke. Sex without lube wasn't something he was particularly fond of, but then Sasuke drew in a deep breath waiting for Naruto to tell him when he could move and in a low voice when he complied and Sasuke pulled out oh-so-agonizingly-slowly, each movement drawing those perfectly arched eyebrows together in concentration, a lip between sharp teeth, breathing so labored with the effort that Naruto was sure it was driving Sasuke crazy, he knew this was worth it.

Sasuke set a slow pace taking great care, keeping in mind the fact that they were going raw. Each thrust was deep almost hitting Naruto's belly and Naruto could only helplessly cling to Sasuke as the speed increased and the feeling intensified. He sped up gradually, aligning his hips for a different angle till Naruto screamed "there! Right there!" and he smiled.

He took Naruto's half hard cock in his hand and stroked it with his thrusts, Naruto's nails pressing into his biceps. The pace changed to hurried and Naruto forced him down one last time for a kiss. Their lungs burnt with lack of air when their movements turned frantic and desperate. Naruto pushed Sasuke's hand away and he grabbed his own cock stroking it hard and fast trying his best to be stay in accord with Sasuke's movements.

Sasuke came hard. Six days of pent up need storming its way out while Naruto grunted his own release.

Sasuke collapsed hard on top of Naruto, his legs giving way under him. Naruto's hands came around him and he held Sasuke nuzzling into his temple. "I've missed this," Naruto whispered against his ear, shifting a little and wincing at the wetness he felt, Sasuke still limp but inside of him. He heard the faint clink as the ring he wore around his neck bumped against Sasuke's and he smiled tiredly.

"Hn me too," Sasuke whispered back his hands stroking leisurely circles on Naruto's sides.

"Damn why didn't we do this before?" Naruto whispered begrudgingly grinning like a felon.

Sasuke raised a sweaty brow. "Because we made a promise," he said.

"We should have never made that stupid promise," Naruto murmured his voice gravelly.

"It's okay," Sasuke said shifting again to get more comfortable and twining his legs around Naruto.

He rubbed a spot and Naruto giggled. "What?" he asked sitting up a little and looking at Naruto still rubbing the same spot causing Naruto to chortle and squirm under him.

"Sasuke stop that! It tickles," Naruto gushed and Sasuke just continued to tickle him mercilessly, till he was pushing against Sasuke laughing hard and fighting for every breath while tears of mirth ran down his cheeks.

"No way," Sasuke said pinning down Naruto's legs and still tickling him. "You're being punished," he said.

"Punished? I can't…breathe and my ass is sore," Naruto wheezed struggling hard despite the way Sasuke was literally preventing all movement. "Please?"

"You've put me through hell Naruto this week. I won't let you go till you say you're sorry," Sasuke said still running his hands in a crazy foray across Naruto's body while Naruto twisted his head from side to side trying to push Sasuke off. He tried to say something but all that came out was half-formed syllables.

"C'mon," Sasuke said laughing enjoying the struggle. "It's not that difficult Naruto," he leaned forward and licked a tear off Naruto's eyes unable to resist himself. "Sorry, just say it."

"So-so-sorry Sasuke," Naruto finally managed to pant out and Sasuke let him go drawing out of him slowly. Naruto turned to his side hand across his chest trying to regain his breath. He panted harshly for some seconds and when he saw Sasuke off-guard, he kicked him playfully. "Asshole," he muttered shooting his boyfriend a half-assed glare.

He was awarded with a sarcastic smirk and he closed his eyes tiredly. Sasuke came up behind him and pulled him up the bed till he was against the pillows. He grabbed a couple of tissues and cleaned Naruto up as gently as he could. He then proceeded to lie down himself right beside his boyfriend and wrapped an arm around his middle. Naruto shifted to accommodate him and linked his fingers with Sasuke's resting them against his stomach.

"So I heard your mom caught you with your pants around your ankles, eh?" Sasuke asked his head on Naruto's head their ears on top of each other.

Naruto stiffened and Sasuke felt it all the way from tip to toes. "Jeez I asked you last time too. Just how did you find that out?" he asked.

Naruto felt the slight shake of Sasuke's shoulders and stiffened some more. "I asked a question," he bit out in an icy voice.

Sasuke laughed some more before lifting his head and pressing a kiss to Naruto's cheek. "I went to your place," he said and raised his head quickly when Naruto turned around abruptly.

"You came to my house? Why?" he asked stupidly.

Sasuke sighed sitting up. He ran a hand through his hair wondering why Naruto could be so stupid and oblivious all the time.

"Why else? Because I was worried," he said. He rolled his eyes when Naruto sat up too and continued to stare at him incredulously. "Look I got a text from your phone saying you were hurt. So I had little choice in the matter okay?" he reasoned.

"But Kyuu-nii did send you a picture right? I mean you _knew_ I was fine." Naruto said smiling slightly at the way he was hassling Sasuke and the way Sasuke was fuming at him. He moved behind Sasuke and spread his legs nestling Sasuke in between and putting his arms around him.

"Yeah but I had no clue about the _extent _of your injury right?" he asked.

Naruto let out a huge grin, his eyes closing with amusement. He leaned forward and bit a pale shoulder. "Aw, someone was worried about me, eh?" he asked raising a blond eyebrow causing Sasuke to huff and try and shrug Naruto's face from where his chin was resting on Sasuke's shoulder.

Naruto ran a finger down Sasuke's spine. "Just so you know that makes me happy." He leaned forward and placed a kiss right in the center of that back. "But it still doesn't answer the question. How did you find out about that?"

Sasuke squirmed trying to move away from where Naruto was now lightly nibbling his skin. "I heard your mom talk about it over the phone." He answered.

Naruto stiffened. "Fuck! Who was she talking to?" he turned Sasuke around partially and Sasuke shot him a withering glance.

"Stop overreacting Naruto. It was just your dad." Sasuke answered annoyed.

That relaxed Naruto. He took his place beside Sasuke and perched his chin atop the pale shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said quietly and kissed the shoulder.

Sasuke removed Naruto's arms and turned around to look at him. "For confusing our bathroom with the one you have at home?" he asked looking at Naruto owlishly.

Naruto snorted. "You know that's not why I'm sorry."

Sasuke moved forward and cupped his face. "Then what you sorry for?" he asked staring into those deep blues.

Naruto took a deep breath. "You know I have a lot of stuff to be sorry for. Getting drunk, being stupid," he trailed off making a vague hand gesture.

Sasuke nodded amusement touching the edges of his lips. "Apology accepted," he said sincerely and visibly flinched when Naruto just bit his nose all of a sudden.

"I fucking love you Uchiha Sasuke," he said grinning when Sasuke looked at him angrily and rubbed his nose. "I do. You can't even imagine how much. Fuck I think I'd die without you," he said.

"Uh-huh," Sasuke said raising an eyebrow looking at Naruto disbelievingly. In return, Naruto just pounced on him hugging him causing Sasuke to laugh at the unexpectedness of the moment. Damn, he had missed this. His arms wound themselves around Naruto, nose buried in the tan neck inhaling his familiar scent reacquainting with the feel and scent of Naruto. "I think I can imagine," he said kissing the top of Naruto's head. "And now if you don't stop rubbing my asshole, I'm not going to be responsible for my actions."

Naruto muttered something which he missed and leaned down humming in query. He laughed when he finally heard what Naruto had to say and said, "Uzumaki Naruto this may be the only time in my life I'll say this so listen carefully – violate me, please?"

Naruto laughed letting Sasuke go only to jump on him a moment later.

"Damn right Sasuke I will!"

* * *

_**Uzumaki Apartment**_

By the time Sasuke dropped Naruto off, it was actually one at night. Sasuke pulled up in front of Naruto's house and even after saying goodnight to each other, they horsed around a bit in the car. Naruto smacked Sasuke a little too hard on his shoulder when he checked his neck and found a hickey staring back at him, he got smacked in the process when Sasuke saw a similar one on his neck and then they proceeded to get some more marks on each other till they mistakenly honked the horn and sat up startled. They settled their clothes like guilty teenagers and then kissed some more till finally Naruto slapped a hand to Sasuke's seeking mouth which was murmuring invitations to stay the night with him in his ear and resolutely opened the car and stepped out.

He spent about ten minutes on his front door trying to twist the key in the lock in such a way that his mom wouldn't wake up. He knew he looked thoroughly fucked and he grinned when he thought about the way he had spent his entire day tangled between the sheets. He stepped inside as quietly as he could, making as little noise as possible. He locked the door and frowned when he noticed a pair of shoes he didn't recognize.

He made his way up on nimble feet trying to keep the noise as much as possible. The last thing he wanted was for his mother to see him like this and know what transpired. He made his way past Kyuubi's room and was just twisting the knob of his own room's door when he heard a sound akin to a moan but the voice wasn't Kyuubi's.

It did not take him long to put two and two together and he giggled uncharacteristically when he thought about all that was happening behind closed doors between his brother and a certain Uchiha. As softly as he could, he retraced his steps to his brother's room and bent till his ear was pressed against the door. Taking out his phone he dialed a number and laughed when he heard the faint ringtone play. He covered his mouth with his hand to stifle his laughter when he heard the faint groan apparently at the insistent way Kyuubi's phone was ringing.

"_Are you going to get that?" _Naruto heard Itachi's muffled voice through the door.

"_Let it be_," Kyuubi sounded distracted and Naruto grinned evilly because he knew why.

"_Who is it?" _Itachi sounded royally pissed at the interruption.

"_It's Naruto," _Kyuubi sounded apologetic.

"_Get it_" Itachi sounded concerned and Naruto crinkled his nose with affection at that.

The phone continued to ring and then there was a rather loud curse and then Kyuubi picked up the phone sounding out of breath. "_Hello?_"

"_Kyuu-nii, can we talk?" _Naruto sounded as worried as he could. He had to cover his mouth rather hard to shut himself from cackling out loud.

He heard the faint creak of the bed and then Itachi murmur a "is something wrong" as they shifted positions. Kyuubi set the phone on speaker so that Itachi could also hear the conversation their voices low and barely audible through the door.

"Is everything alright?" Kyuubi sounded genuinely worried and Naruto was pretty sure that they had put their activities on hold inside and were now completely tuned to what he had to say.

"_Yeah, it's just…could you keep your voices down?" _Naruto let out his choked laughter when Itachi let out a rather long string of curses at that. To add insult to the injury he bumped against the door intentionally and cleared his throat.

There was a thudding noise mixed with another curse and then there was some rapid fire bickering.

Naruto laughed as he made his way to his own room making sure to lock the door lest in case Kyuubi or Itachi decided to murder him in his sleep.

Once he was safely inside the confines of his room he fell on his bed laughing his heart out till his stomach hurt and tears flowed from his eyes.

He was being a killjoy but oh what the hell!

* * *

_**Day 7**_

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke sighed for about the millionth time as Mikoto fussed over him as they sat for breakfast on the table. He knew that she was just masking her sadness at the fact that he was going to go away that evening by just pretending to be normal and feed him everything his heart desired.

Itachi still had to come down for breakfast and when Mikoto requested Sasuke to fetch him, Sasuke just waved her off asking her to leave him alone given it was the holidays. That and he was well informed of where Itachi spent the previous night courtesy his boyfriend who laughed so hard on the phone that he was panting and unable to speak.

He smirked while thinking about the best way to tease his brother who was making his way down the stairs yawning and trying to get his hair in some semblance of order. "Somebody had a late night?" he asked with a raised eyebrow watching his brother move towards the refrigerator to pull out a bottle of water. His brother chose to ignore him as he broke the seal and uncapped the bottle and Sasuke smiled before steeling his lips into a poker face when he saw Itachi turning around.

Itachi turned to look at him with the bottle raised to his lips and Sasuke chose that moment to smirk that evil _knowing _smirk causing Itachi to choke on his water. Mikoto looked at the duo with confusion clouding her features and Sasuke felt a bit sorry for her, but then again there were some things which were best kept between brothers.

Itachi wiped the water dribbling down his chin shooting his brother a withered look. "Yes Mother I would like it very much if you made that tomato sushi for lunch," he said and distracted his brother when she looked like she was going to demand an explanation from him. Instantly her brow smoothed out and she showered him with a smile and a hug that made him breathless in the most unromantic way. He could see Itachi watching him with amused eyes and when he raised in hand for some help Itachi just smirked and walked in the direction of the bathroom.

_Motherfucker!_

He was never going to cover for Itachi again…_never._

* * *

_**Uzumaki Household**_

Silence hung over the table as everyone munched on the rice and the _miso _soup that Kushina had made for breakfast. Neither was talking each person thinking about the fact that Naruto was going back to Suna that evening.

Naruto felt a little bad as he watched his mother's face. Her eyes were downcast and most of her face was hidden by her long fiery red hair. He then cast his dad a furtive glance and almost choked on his soup when his father looked ready to burst into tears.

It was always this way. He hated goodbyes. They made him want to curl into a ball and weep. He looked down morosely at his own ball of rice and took a spoonful shoving it into his mouth to prevent himself from saying something. Last time he had tried to comfort his family, Kushina burst into tears with Minato following, the couple hugging each other and crying like it was the end of the world. He really didn't think he could stomach an encore of that this time.

Hell even Kyuubi looked upset! His elder brother was the only one who understood him at such times, who supported at such times and this time, even Kyuubi was looking like a kicked puppy. He needed Kyuubi's cooperation and it wasn't going to come if his brother just continued to mope around that way over the table.

He painfully shoved the semi-chewed rice down his throat down his throat and poked Kyuubi under the table. Kyuubi looked up startled and frowned at Naruto who was nodding towards their gloomy parents and mouthed, "Help me!" to Kyuubi.

Kyuubi looked down at his own bowl of half eaten rice and then at Naruto who was frowning and looking at him with so much of hope. Then he cleared his throat and said, "Ah now that Naruto is going everyone is thinking about him and no one is thinking about me."

Kushina and Minato looked up sharply from their food at Kyuubi surprised. Frankly, neither was expecting conversation given the fact that Naruto was leaving so when Kyuubi posed a question like that, they were quite taken aback.

"What?" Minato asked putting down his chopsticks and folding his hands across his chest and staring at his elder son with a frown on his face.

"I'm saying that you both don't love me anymore. All your love is directed towards Naruto," he faked a pout and mirrored Minato's posture.

Kushina instantly rose to the bait. "Kyuu you know it's not like that!" She threw out her hands in understanding but Kyuubi slid his eyes away and mock glared at his baby brother.

Naruto sighed bowing his head. This was turning out to be worse than he expected. Maybe he should have suggested playing a game of Monopoly after breakfast or something. His brother was being an ass and ruining everything. "Oh darling," his mother crooned standing up and walking towards him. "Remember when you were eight and wanted the same bike that Itachi had? We got it for you, didn't we?"

"And when you wanted that last cup of ramen from Ichiraku which I bought for Naruto when he had the flu? I gave it to you didn't I?" Minato piped in standing up as well and walking towards his eldest son and placing a hand on his shoulder for emphasis and understanding.

"Dad you did what?" Naruto asked standing up as well innate jealousy filling his insides when he recalled the way his father lied about the shop being closed and little Naruto didn't receive any ramen. "I was four years old then! How could you give my ramen to Kyuu-nii? You knew I loved it more than anything else in the world! I was sick but Kyuu-nii got my ramen," he huffed angrily crowding around Kyuubi's chair.

Chaos broke out as Minato tried to explain, Kushina standing up for him while Kyuubi kept pouting like a child and Naruto stayed angry over his ramen. Then it proceeded to other things that they did for Naruto but never for Kyuubi or vice-versa. It went on with everyone speaking together at the same time till somebody let out a short bark of laughter. And then they were all laughing and hugging till Kushina burst into tears, followed by Minato. The couple held Naruto talking about how much they were going to miss him and then Kyuubi joined in on the hug and before Naruto knew it, he was being smothered by not just two sets of hands but three. Not that he was complaining.

He grinned cheerily as Minato rubbed his head and Kushina sobbed on his shoulder. His hands tightened around them.

Damn he was going to miss this.

* * *

_**Uchiha Residence**_

Sasuke squelched the urge to roll his eyes. Honestly, he was wondering how his family could be so overdramatic. He was just going back to Suna not to die goddammit!

Mikoto sobbed uncontrollably on Fugaku's shoulder and Fugaku himself looked fairly misty eyed. His suitcase was there at the entrance all packed and ready. His flight was in an hour and if he wanted to avoid the wrath of his ever punctual boyfriend, he was supposed to say his goodbyes now. Kyuubi was bringing his car and according to the text Naruto sent him twenty minutes back which said that those two would be leaving in ten minutes, they would be here any minute now.

"Mother, Father," Sasuke began and closed his mouth when his mother's sobs escalated. Fugaku's arms tightened around her and he muttered calming words in her ear till she calmed down enough to extract herself from her husband and move towards her son. He held her as she clutched him tightly to her bosom. "Mother it's going to be fine," he said as she kissed him on his cheek and gushed about how much she was going to miss him and how much she missed him already.

His eyes slid to his brother's face only to find him looking down and slightly out. He frowned. This was extremely uncharacteristic on Itachi's part. He raised a questioning eyebrow at his brother when their eyes met but Itachi just looked away and pretended to be more interested in the paint on the wall unclasping his hand from behind him to run a finger on the wall. But he had a more pressing matter to attend to. "Mother I'm going to be late," he said drawing his hands away to pulling his mother gently.

"I'll be fine," he said finally pulling away from his mother who wiped her eyes with her hands. He then proceeded towards his father to say his goodbyes. They shook hands and Fugaku patted him on the shoulder giving him a paternal smile and murmuring a 'good luck'.

He was moving towards Itachi to shake his hand when they heard the honk of what could only be assumed as Kyuubi's car. Itachi picked up his suitcase and Mikoto grabbed him one last time to give him a hug. Then they proceeded to out of the house to wave him goodbye. He didn't want that. He didn't, really. It was always the most difficult thing to watch his mother's crying face and his father's saddened expression as they waved him goodbye.

Sasuke stepped out to see Naruto unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car, Kyuubi mirroring the same. He noted with amusement as Kyuubi settled the dark red necktie he wore and smoothed out his black blazer trying to look every bit impressive he could for his parents-in-law. His eyes slid towards Itachi who was staring at Kyuubi intensely a small smiled curved unconsciously around his lips. He then looked at his mother and frowned when he noticed the scowl on her face as she looked at Kyuubi with narrowed eyes.

He knew the reason and so did Kyuubi because his red eyes widened suddenly as they landed on Itachi's mother but then he looked at Itachi, straightened his shoulders and walked forward to bow in front of Fugaku. It was a deep bow conveying Kyuubi's respect for the man. "Good evening Uchiha-san," he said.

Fugaku smiled nodding his approval as he nodded and intoned the reply back. Then he walked towards Mikoto and repeated the gesture only to have Mikoto shrug silently and turn her head away. Unfortunately her eyes happened to land on Itachi who was looking at her with a hint of sadness in his eyes. She tried to look away but her son's gaze held her imprisoned begging for acceptance.

Nevertheless when Itachi looked really sad, she gave Kyuubi a curt nod. He returned the nod smiling slightly at Itachi who smirked back. It was far from acceptance but it was a start.

The pensive mood was broken by Naruto who bounced right up to Sasuke and slung an arm around his neck "Missed ya buddy," he said grinning cheerily and patting Sasuke on the shoulder rather hard. He grinned cheerily at Sasuke's parents who smiled back at him. "How've you been?" he asked politely arm still slung around Sasuke.

"We've been good Naruto. How've you been?" Mikoto asked. She walked up to Naruto who removed his arm from around Sasuke's shoulder and patted his head. "We wanted to invite you for dinner one night but Sasuke said you were really busy…" she trailed off pouting and Naruto made a huffing sound with a sad face.

"I'm so sorry _oba-san_," he apologized sincerely and gave Mikoto a sheepish look. "I wanted to come over but there was just so little time! But next time I promise!" he gushed and she put a hand on his shoulder to quiet him.

"It's okay. Sasuke told us about it," she said understandingly as Itachi chose that moment to pick up Sasuke's suitcase and shove it in the trunk.

"Well then we must go," Naruto said shaking Fugaku's hand, winking and waving at Mikoto as he got into the car. She giggled and returned the wave causing Fugaku to frown slightly and Itachi to roll his eyes. Then he turned to give a two fingered salute to Itachi only to find him taking his place in the backseat, Kyuubi accompanying him.

Sasuke murmured something to his mother in farewell before coming to the passenger side and sliding in. They waved at each other one last time and then Naruto hit the acceleration and they were hitting it off towards the airport. Once they turned the corner, Naruto hit the brakes, grabbed Sasuke and kissed him hard.

"Missed you bastard," he muttered and then almost choked on his saliva when he turned to see his elder brother sucking face with Itachi.

"Could you guys cut it out?" he asked closing his eyes in disgust and leaning his forehead against Sasuke's.

"Oh _can_ it Naruto! You were at it not two seconds ago!" Kyuubi mumbled angrily as he brought Itachi's chin closer and placed another kiss on the smirking Uchiha's lips.

"Oh well," Naruto said making another rather long attempt at sucking Sasuke's soul before drawing away and changing gears switching the car to acceleration again. He checked the time on his dash almost panicking when he noticed they only had forty-five minutes to make it to the airport and he hit the gas picking up speed accidently-on-purpose setting the two lovers on the backseat apart. "Sorry but we're pressing on time, here," he said looking at Itachi in the rearview who rolled his eyes and grabbed Kyuubi again.

"Don't apologize," Sasuke said placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder when he looked ready to apologize again after a series of another quick turns which set Kyuubi and Itachi apart. "They just decided to tag along because they wanted to make out," he pointed out drolly as Kyuubi grabbed Itachi and brought him to his lap inserting his tongue down Itachi's throat.

Itachi drew away. "That's not true. We just wanted to see you off," he said tilting his neck and letting Kyuubi run his tongue along the tall length.

"Oh please," Sasuke said rolling his eyes. He did not dare look back once knowing that if he did, he was going to be traumatized for life. His elder brother making out…well he'd rather skip the thought entirely.

Naruto speeded up cutting a SUV and making a mad dash. He checked the dash again and sighed in relief when he saw that they had time enough to make it without anyone breaking their necks. But slowing down brought several realizations one of which included the fact that Itachi was now bending over Kyuubi's lap which only meant one thing. "Itachi-nii, get away from Kyuu-nii before I throw you both out on the road!" he warned swirling the car rather dangerously trying to _untangle _the two from their promiscuous behavior. He sighed when Itachi just lifted his head, wiped his mouth rather unabashedly with the back of his hand and smirked at Naruto. "Have you no shame?" he asked momentarily closing his eyes in pain at the image that brought forth.

Kyuubi laughed. "Well we definitely do have more shame than your shameless 'Ah…ah…Sasuke yes…right there's'" he said shooting Naruto a dirty look making the blond man blush.

Itachi put a hand on Kyuubi's thigh. "Now let's not harass the poor boy Kyuu," he said and Naruto and Sasuke almost gagged at the honeyed tone. Lord knew if Itachi was to ever use that tone on those two, their balls would shrivel up and dry.

They made the rest of the way with little talk. Thankfully Itachi and Kyuubi kept their hands to themselves and Naruto and Sasuke to theirs. There was this one time when Sasuke leaned to whisper something in Naruto's ear but before his devious tongue could sneak out and taste the shell of that enticing ear, Itachi's hand was pushing Sasuke's head away and the mini argument was broken by the sharp press of a pissed off foot against the brakes and Naruto screaming at them.

Once at the airport, they switched roles from a double couple to elder brothers wishing their younger brothers a safe journey. Itachi was supposed to leave after a couple of days. He fussed over everything about Sasuke as if he was a toddler and it was only when Kyuubi put a hand on Itachi's shoulder in comfort and understanding that Itachi shut up and without any snide remarks just grabbed Sasuke and hugged him.

Kyuubi and Sasuke shook hands and Kyuubi gave Naruto a similar hug and wished him well talking about coming over and meeting the duo for Christmas or New Years making both Naruto and Sasuke smile.

Then they waved and walked away as soon as they could, the time for their flight almost at hand.

"Are you going to miss these vacations?" Naruto asked suddenly taking his seat and staring out at the lands he loved.

"Huh?" Sasuke asked confused as he made himself more comfortable on his seat and crossed his legs at the ankles. "I don't know," he said thinking about the matter seriously.

Naruto raised a quizzical eyebrow and Sasuke smiled at him. "Minus the fact that I barely got to see you, yes these vacations weren't so bad," he said.

Naruto punched him on the shoulder before getting all kissy-faced. "So," he asked leaning towards Sasuke and staring at his lips, "what do you want to do once we get back home?" he whispered with a promise in his eyes.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pushed Naruto's cheesy face away. Then to humor Naruto he pretended to think it over. "Because you've really pissed me off a couple of times, I think I'm going to have to bring out the _toys_," he said.

Naruto's eyes danced with mischief. "Oh I can't wait Uchiha-sama," he said playing along causing Sasuke to chuckle and look away.

"Naruto what the hell do I do with you?" he asked seeing his boyfriend so excited at the prospect of it.

"Hmm," Naruto hummed rhetorically buckling up as the sign came on. "That's an interesting question but I think we have thirteen hours to talk about this unless you're considering sex on the plane," he whispered slyly winking at Sasuke for effect.

Sasuke clubbed him on the head. "I'm going to make you regret your cockiness Naruto. Just you wait." However, sex on the plane stuck to Sasuke's head, his mind already beginning to toy with the idea.

Naruto waggled his eyebrows and grinned. Sasuke grinned back.

Oh these were going to be fun times now!

* * *

_**The End**_


End file.
